Guess: is this church a protestant or Catholic church (picture)

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I’ll take protestant for $400, Alex.

No crucifix, no Marian statues make me think it may be a Catholic church under construction, but the basket and squashes at the base of the altar make me think it’s already in use.
CTBcin said:
My thoughts as well. If this was a parish church, one would at least hope that there’s a crucifix and tabernacle in sight. But if it’s a multi-purpose room or non-denominational chapel at a hospital or something, that would be understandable.
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Or the tabernacle was hidden in a corner like a naughty, red-headed stepchild?
 
Really, is that necessary?

The tabernacle being front & center in not a requirement.
I actually like the fact that at my parish, it is just off to the right of the main altar at an old side altar. The space is a little more intimate for private prayer, yet the tabernacle is still in the Church proper.
 
Perhaps I was a tad crass, but if I believe the tabernacle contains what it contains, why would I slide it to the side out of view? But that’s a discussion for another day and channel.

Back to the original topic, I’m going to guess it’s neither protestant nor Catholic. It’s a stage set for a musical rendition of “The Crucible.”
 
Question: Is that a communion table or an altar? I’ve seen some ugly churches, in fact I was up in New Jersey, and while the homily was perfectly orthodox, the church was not very pretty, but there was a tabernacle, it was not put in a place of prominence, but it was there. There was a resurrectifix, which I can’t say I’m too terribly fond of. So, yeah ugly church, but still identifiably Catholic. I don’t know what this is. I think it could be a chapel at an airport or something. I’ve never actually flown on an airplane, but I have been to several airports. I’ve been at Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, and it has Bibles and rosaries and stuff there, and I don’t see any of that.
 
Woops… EDIT: Original Poster, here –

This – is a Catholic church 😶

To clear a few things up –

This is the main church, not a temporary site. This main church building has been in place for decades and there is no construction anywhere in the vicinity.

This particular church has more than enough assets, too. You will have to trust me on that, because I’d rather not give you the identity.

The tabernacle is not just out of frame… it’s in an adoration chapel in the back, not even in the main building. That Pew survey a few months ago - the one that revealed most Catholics believe the Eucharist is a mere symbol and not the body and blood of Jesus Christ - is more easily understood when we realize how much we have removed the “source and summit” of our Faith (or at least it is supposed to be) from our Faith and our faith.

I was upset by the layout and felt compelled to take a picture because of that. It is stark, to the point where, during the entrance procession, when the priest bowed in front of the altar (that plain table up there), I immediately thought, “what is he even bowing to?” Yes, the altar represents our Lord Jesus Christ, I’m just reiterating that it is staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark…

God gave us our senses – sight, sound, smell – and He does not require us to sit in a white, sterile, windowless room to worship Him. The king does not sentence his subject to death when he praises the King’s court and the honorable people in it.

Idolatry is real, and it is wrong, and it creeps in here and there in people’s lives and we have to guard against it and confess it when we discern it. But the statues in Catholic churches are not “idols,” in that no Catholic is permitted to worship anyone or anything in place of God (that being the definition of an idol). There were far more pagans in the ancient world and pagans typically believe power comes from the actual figure or statue they worship. That Thor statue, to the Norse pagan, really, actually has Thor’s power. So the specific issue protestants have with supposed “idolatry” in the Catholic church traces its roots to that world where far more people actually worshiped false gods and statues, etc. Money, power, fame, pleasure… these are far worse and prolific idols.

Catholic statues are akin to pictures of your kids in your wallet – if I look at a picture of my child and feel warmth and love and pride… do I love that physical picture or my actual child that this picture is depicting? There is a difference between the reminder and the thing it reminds us of.
 
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I could understand, if it was in a small town with few Catholics, And they didn’t have a lot of money for a lot of decoration. In fact, I know of such a place, I was a member there for 2 years. However, that church still does have some decoration, there are still statues, the Tabernacle is in a place of prominence. So if they can do that, being in a rural town in South Carolina, I don’t know why the folks from this church in this picture can’t do that there.
 
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I agree and I know what you mean.

I want to tell everyone where it is. But I won’t. But trust me, they can afford the things they want.
 
I totally understand that. We’ve had a couple of new churches in the area I live in, And they are fantastic. There is one near my brother’s house, that just ended up being beautiful. And my own Parish church, although the parish has been around a long time, they have a new church that I am just delighted with. I say new, it’s about 2 or 3 years old.
 
CTBcin said:
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Peebo:
Maybe it’s in the parish hall because of renovations in the church (Catholic)
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It all looks just a little too permanent to be a parish hall. Between the elevated sanctuary and the wooden pews.
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ahhh, still could be a parish hall.

I know of a parish in a beach town that has two buildings 20 blocks apart. The first is the main Church. The 2nd is the parish hall and religious education center. However, in the Summer, the parish hall (which has a permanently elevated stage or sanctuary) is used as a 2nd location for Mass.

Rest of the year; the tabernacle, altar, etc are removed and the sanctuary becomes a stage again.
 
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Guess: Is this Protestant or Catholic?

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phil19034 said:
I know of a parish in a beach town that has two buildings 20 blocks apart
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I thought for a minute that I might have been to that parish, but I just checked the parish website and even in the offseason the chapel I went to has a Saturday anticipatory and a Sunday Mass.
 
It’s actually the Anglican Cathedral of St Paul here in Wellington, New Zealand. Our Catholic cathedral is 50m down the road and looks like this:

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this post serves no constructive purpose.

If it’s a protestant church- it’s not your business how they set it up.

If it’s a Catholic church and not your parish, it is again not your business.

If it’s your own parish and you have issues with it, then you talk to your pastor about it.

Posting here so that people can pile on, when no one even knows the situation, is not the kind of discussion we should expect at CAF. It’s not constructive. It’s passive aggressive and it’s wrong.
 
You knew it was going to be a Catholic Church, right?

Of course the post serves a purpose - it lets others know that they are not alone in noticing that modern Catholic church architecture is often ugly, lacking in catholic distinction and connection to traditional church architecture. . . .
 
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