“Outstanding Performance” or “Good Priest”: when churches are evaluated

If you believe Mika J. Netizen, nine months ago he experienced a very good service at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Büssel, Lower Saxony. “Great performance by the pastor. Includes JBL Boombox. Very nice,” G. apparently wrote in a comment on Google Maps after a church service in a small community in the Cloppenburg area. He also left the maximum number of five stars as a rating. Andreas Bli, on the other hand, was less convinced of the performance of Busseler’s priest: “The Catholic Church, the priest is well, otherwise the church is good,” he wrote before J.

Online reviews have played an increasingly important role for years. Before buying products, planning a trip or looking for a doctor, many netizens look at the reviews of other users on Google or private rating and comparison portals – even if it is not always clear whether they are real or not, in the case of remarkably good reviews, hidden ads .

Almost 60,000 Google Maps reviews of Cologne Cathedral

Anyone who frequently uses mapping applications like Google Maps or Apple Maps in their daily life knows that almost every restaurant, every store, and every known building is labeled there as well. This also applies to famous churches such as Cologne Cathedral. The Cologne Archdiocese Cathedral has been Germany’s most visited attraction for many years. So it’s not surprising that there are nearly 60,000 place-of-worship ratings on Google Maps alone – most of them positive to cheer. User Paul Osesiak wrote five months ago: “The most beautiful landmark in all of Cologne. It’s always great to look at Cologne Cathedral. When you see it, Cologne’s heart beats faster.” A month ago Ronnie Weitz wrote: “Admission to the cathedral was free! We’re not religious but the atmosphere was great!”

On the other hand, it may not be known – as in the case of Busel Church – that small, little-known Catholic places of worship are also labeled in map applications. Users comment and review just about everything: the architecture of the church in question, the quality of the local pastor’s sermons, and the type of pastoral offerings. With their rating, some users simply say thank you for a nice event they experienced in the church – like a baptism or a special service.

However, many users also take the opportunity to use Google Maps to express their critical view of the Catholic Church in general or of its local functionaries — and in that regard, the Maps app is also a good seismograph of social mood toward the Church. Example St. Wilhad in Oldenburg: There the user “I am here” left only one star in his Google review a year ago, “Simply because the church is Catholic. Thank God, more and more members are leaving.” With such a negative rating, Here I Am became pretty lonely, at least in St. Wallhad. Most other users so far have left positive comments and five stars for the church and parish staff – like Carlos Ghost, who writes: “Very nice and friendly. Very helpful. Great people.”

“Live community, good Mass and challenging sermons”

In the parish church of the Sagrada Familia in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin, many users have praised the liturgical qualities of the local parish staff. “Pastor whose sermons make you stop,” Jörg Beckmans wrote three months ago, “organist with an angelic voice. We love this place.” Konstantin Manthey commented three years ago: “One of my favorite churches (both structural and religious). Lively congregation, good rituals and demanding sermons. Sometimes 100 children come to the altar for a big Mass.” The only user “Pitti PLATSCH” doesn’t seem to have good experiences in the parish. His or her comment about the church is simply “unfriendly”.

Church bells ringing frequently is also commented on and always given negative ratings on Google Maps. Such as St. Joseph’s Church in the Schwabing district of Munich. “Church bells are so noisy,” user “CO” wrote just this week, thus perhaps only being given 1 star. Kevin John McGuire rated the church equally bad. His most likely negative comment: “Rings every morning at 8:47am.” User Jens Berlin, who apparently lives near St. John’s Cathedral in Berlin and might like to sleep longer, made a similar statement: “Unacceptable noise pollution. Should the bells really ring at 8am. And again at 12?” And at random on weekends, often for several minutes? This is very annoying for people with long sleep schedules.”

Negative reviews that indicate Church abuse scandal Refer, it can hardly be found on google maps. Even in parish churches, where a priest who has since been convicted of abuse is known to have worked there in the past, there are hardly any corresponding comments.

Some reviews make the user smile

There are always reviews that make the reader smile. As is the parish church of St. Marianne in Friswyth in Lower Saxony. A user commented there eight months ago: “Beautiful building with lots of pictures. Unfortunately, the pedestals are not lined and the bread is dry. Otherwise, it’s fine.” Still got five stars. User Bettina Paul was more stern in her judgment. Because she found it in the “SAUKALT” church, she only left one star as a rating.

However: If you’re traveling, for example, and therefore can’t go to a Sunday service in your home parish, you have the option of using a map app you trust to search for churches in your current location. Reviews of other netizens can help to get an impression of whether it is an architecturally beautiful church with an observant priest, good preaching, and a lively congregation – in short: whether a visit to the church is worthwhile.