Charging for entry to a church?

News that Historic Scotland is considering asking a £4.50 fee of visitors to enter Glasgow Cathedral, has caused incredulity and understandably so.

The 800-year-old church has been freely welcoming visitors for centuries and there are good reasons to question the wisdom of asking them to start handing over cash now.

Historic Scotland insists that worshippers would not be expected to pay the charge, but how is that to be policed? Visitors to churches often go partly to reflect, light a candle or say a prayer: will they qualify as privileged worshippers or paying guests? The cathedral is also well used by staff, patients and visitors from Glasgow Royal Infirmary. It would be truly sad if they were put off using the cathedral as a place to gather their thoughts or pray. It remains to be seen whether Glasgow residents would be charged the fee, but even if they were not, many hospital visitors and patients could still fall foul of it.

The Kirk Session believes the proposal reflects a desire to use the church inappropriately as a source of revenue. Certainly, it jars with its proud history as a sanctuary for thought and prayer. At a time when Christian religious observance is in decline, putting extra financial obstacles in the way of speculative visits by members of the public to a church does not help. The notion of charging also jars with the ethos of Glasgow's visitor attractions. The city's museums and galleries, including Kelvingrove and the Gallery of Modern Art, are free. The proposed charge of £4.50, while not astronomical, is probably enough to put a significant number of would-be visitors off.

None of this is to say that Historic Scotland can simply ignore the financial pressures it faces. The upkeep of historic buildings is costly. It is perfectly legitimate to highlight those pressures, but a church building is different from a castle or a palace. There is a widespread expectation that a church will be open to all, regardless of ability to pay, and that is an important principle.

There are after all other ways of raising revenue that merit consideration. Historic Scotland could perhaps do more to publicise opportunities to contribute to the building's upkeep. Large glass money bins by the entrance to churches stating recommended donations might not raise millions, but the approach has the merit of being voluntary. In some churches, charges are even made for specific extras - visits to see statuary in the crypt, for instance, or to gain access to upper galleries.

Charging entry would be a big step with significant downsides and should be rethought.