Theo Hobson Theo Hobson

The trouble with Canterbury Cathedral’s rave

(Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

I will not be attending the silent disco that is soon to be held in Canterbury Cathedral. I will not witness ‘some of the UK’s best 90s DJs playing all your favourite tunes in the stunning, illuminated surroundings of Canterbury Cathedral’. I will not be among ‘100s of like-minded 90s fans singing their hearts out whilst wearing state-of-the-art LED headphones’.

Why not? Isn’t this the sort of trendy gimmick that a trendy liberal like me approves of? Don’t I often express the view that the Church should be open to the culture around it, and find ways to tempt arty agnostics into its orbit? 

Well, I suppose it won’t do any harm, and maybe some of the ravers will look more positively on the cathedral as an impressive cultural space, and maybe one or two will wonder what worship is like there, and quietly give it a try. Maybe.

But my gut reaction is one of slight dismay.

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