Churches are all around us in different shapes, sizes and forms for different religions. I am going to specifically focus upon the Christian church as this is an area I have the most knowledge in and within the Western region of the world, particularly England as  Christianity is the most prominent religion according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_Kingdom.

Initially, I researched the influence of religion within my tiny Channel Island and that’s when I discovered; “two fifths of the island are… irreligious”, signifying the decreasing power of the Christian church over society. Getting as close to home as possible, I studied the history of Saint. Clement’s and the four churches within the parish, although only two of these are Christian churches. This is the parish where I live so these churches are very accessible, but with the help of my trusty moped and due to the small nature of Jersey I am able to study all Jersey Christian churches.  Following my research upon the religious scene in Jersey, I discovered Jersey’s established church is the Church of England, and although Christianity equates for half of Jersey’s population, wikipedia states  irreligion has been an increasing force in Jersey. A demographic which I come under as I am an atheist, however, I do respect the values that Christianity promotes, especially as they correspond with modern day law and legislation.

The Parish Church

Fundamentally, what I do not support about Christianity is how in history and even more contemporary, in less educated global regions, the papacy have exploited the good-will of church goers for their money, demonstrating their indoctrination to religion. Recently, I watched a documentary known as “Deception of the Ages Nigeria”, which is available on YouTube. The documentary establishes this sense of exploitation of the lower class which angers me as these people have no money, they cannot afford for their children to have efficient education, yet the church is coercing finances from these families as they are not educated enough to understand the hoax they’re being gulled with, portraying life’s vicious cycle. This is just one of many examples I could provide to signify my anger towards the purpose behind the church.

A Christian Church in Nigeria

In response to the task set, I have decided to steer my focus towards the Christian church and how they have exploited the ancient literature of the Bible to gain money and power from the common people. Another reason why the Christian church has angered me is as recently, I unfortunately had to attend a funeral for a family friend who is the mother of one of my close friends. At the young age of 47, this lady lost her ten month battle with cancer. This lady was a mother of four extremely successful and lovely natured children and this death would leave a void in their lives all too soon. However, on the day of the funeral, with hundreds of people attending who were crying, sobbing, snuffling, the church televised an extract from the Bible. The b***** Bible. At such a tender time, the priest discussed how now sweet Elizabeth will rest with God. I can’t really justify why this angered me except to say its selfish. At this point, these four suffering children are numb with tears streaming down their face whilst a priest recites a quotation from the Bible. It goes unsaid I appreciate my mother’s health and eternally grateful that I wasn’t in that position, but I envisioned myself in that position of my close friend. I imagined that I was stood in her position, crying and having to say goodbye to my mother for the final time whilst this priest mumbled and gargled shit from the Bible. I stand outside of the ceremony starring inside to again, see my friend crying which is when I remember a thing I once discovered from a source I have now forgotten but it was the ‘seven’ stages of grief and this relates so well to what I can see happening to my friend.

Coping with Death: Grief and Photography

Seven stages of grief

Another reason to base upon my work upon grief, the church and orientate the production around the number ‘seven’ is that, within the content of the Bible, it states there are ‘seven’ deadly sins. I think basing my piece around the number seven will also give me some guidance to how I should arrange my work.

7 Deadly Sins List & Meanings

1. Envy = the desire to have an item or experience that someone else possesses
2. Gluttony = excessive ongoing consumption of food or drink
3. Greed or Avarice = an excessive pursuit of material possessions
4. Lust = an uncontrollable passion or longing, especially for sexual desires
5. Pride = excessive view of one’s self without regard to others.
6. Sloth = excessive laziness or the failure to act and utilize one’s talents
7. Wrath = uncontrollable feelings of anger and hate towards another person

http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/what-are-seven-deadly-sins

On Sunday the 15th of October, I plan to photograph as many churches as I can from outside in order to create a typology of churches. This will give me experience with photographing churches and discovering what churches are the best buildings to capture images of for future preference.

Due to my shoot being on a Sunday, I may also capture the services churches hold on a Sunday in order to gather more images for the future.