james kerwin's photographic series showcases the forgotten churches of europe

‘domum dei’, meaning house of god in latin, is the third abandoned architecture photo series by british fine art photographer james kerwin. in this series, kerwin showcases a small handful of the forgotten and derelict churches, chapels and religious buildings across europe, including some in wales, england, france, portugal, italy and poland.ph

subsidence | the stunning roof is what is left sitting inside this former chapel in wales

according to kerwin, the numbers of churches, chapels and other religious buildings that are closing their doors every year has been increasing for several decades now. in wales, for example, the average sunday attendance to church has fallen to below one per cent of the population. also, the british have lost faith in religion much faster than many areas of the world with the most recent survey stating that britain appeared one of the most irreligious countries on earth, with only 30% calling themselves “religious”. however, the movement away from religion is not just in the united kingdom — in 2017, it is estimated that over 10,000 churches will close their doors worldwide. 

the dome | this heavily decaying building was once a theatre before converting into a church

green hues | a small but detailed former chapel in a large italian city

the grand entrance | the stairs that lead up to a dramatic abandoned monastery chapel in france

golden light | a detailed chapel in italy, sitting at the rear of a huge mansion

église de désintégration | after two failed attempts in 2014 & 2015, james finally made it inside this former church in belgium

golden rainbow | the colour and detail of this amazing former school chapel in france

blue acceso | the stunning color on the inside of a religious school chapel in italy

the crucifixion | the uneven wooden chapel that sits disused out in poland

the crucifixion part deux | somewhat stripped

fallen angel (ange déchu) | this former gothic chapel is now under renovation

missing features | a heavily decayed chapel in france, missing all of the pews 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynn chaya | designboom