By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

I have no stance on this. I have no feelings for or against. All I am doing here is stating facts. Facts have no opinion. And these are the facts.

Monmouth has a lot of churches. Like, a lot of churches. At least eight in Monmouth proper, and the number jumps to 14 including Independence, not to mention the couple that are just outside the limits of both cities.

I don’t know what this means. I don’t know what to make of it. In my hometown, we have at least six times as many people as Monmouth, and maybe three churches: the Super-church on top of the hill, the LDS church in the wetlands, and I’m sure there’s another one somewhere in the city limits.

But Monmouth, a town whose already small population drops by about 67 percent during the summer months, has eight.

I’m sure there’s a logical explanation: holdovers from the farmstead days, Monmouth’s convenient middle-of-nowhere location, varying denominations, etc.

But that doesn’t change the fact that there are, like, a ton of churches in Monmouth.

It’s also notable that there are no non-Christian houses of worship in the area. The nearest synagogue is in Salem and the nearest mosque is in Corvallis, not to mention places for the non-Abrahamic faiths. This is probably due to the local demographic breakdown, but even so. Interesting.

Is the concentration of churches a bad thing? No. That’s silly. But is it a good thing?

I don’t know, maybe. I can’t see any positive effects on my Monmouth experience from the high density of churches. But I also can’t see any negative effects. This may be because I am nonreligious and have no real stake in the issue.

But I suppose it’s a good thing for not only the local religious contingency, but also for the population of faithful students trying to find a place to practice their faith while away from home. That’s undoubtedly a good thing.

All that said, I’m still a little bit baffled. Because, guys: Monmouth has a LOT of churches.