Unlock the churches!

Harry Mount, the editor of The Oldie, is appalled that thanks to the coronavirus regulations, he can’t seek spiritual comfort in any of Britain’s glorious churches. And he’s not a religious believer.

Last week he wrote a short but withering piece on his magazine’s website, with the headline ‘Unlock the churches!’ It began:

At a time of national crisis, if only there were some big, empty buildings where people could go and reflect, in an atmosphere of beauty and calm. If only they were so big that you would automatically practise social distancing because there are so many chairs and so few people.Oh, hang on! Like magic, these buildings do exist in every village, town and city in the country. They’re called churches – and yet both the Anglican and Catholic Churches have, in their infinite wisdom, closed them down.

In this week’s Holy Smoke podcast, Harry tells me why the ban on even entering a church is so pointless: he describes it as a giant exercise in ‘our old friend, virtue-signalling’ by the Anglican and Catholic hierarchies. I couldn’t agree more. It was the bishops, not the government, who came up with the idea of a total lockdown. One minute they’re opening their cathedrals to helter-skelters and crazy golf; the next they’re grossly exaggerating the health risks of solitary and well-regulated visits to churches. (No one disputes that a temporary ban on public liturgies is necessary.)

But this episode is about much more than the current outbreak of control-freakery from their Lordships. Harry Mount is an agnostic; why does he feel the need to visit churches? His answer to this question is fascinating and uplifting. Please listen!