Short answer
Muslims do not worship in churches, but entering one for a real need, such as a wedding, funeral, school visit or work, is allowed as long as you do not take part in the worship. Going in without need is makruh (disliked) in the Hanafi school. If you must pray there, your prayer is valid, but avoid facing images or statues.
Entering a church, synagogue or temple without need is makruh, and Ibn Abidin says the dislike is tahrimi. With a need it is allowed. Joining their worship, such as kneeling, hymns or communion, is haram. Salah performed in a clean church is valid, but makruh with images or statues in front of the worshipper.
Other madhhabs
- Hanbali
- Entering a church and praying in a clean one is permitted, with dislike only where images are present.
Explanation
Muslims pray in mosques, at home or anywhere clean, so there is no religious reason to go to church. People ask because life brings them there: a relative's wedding or funeral, a school trip, a community event held in a church hall, or a job.
- Allowed: being present with respect, sitting quietly, greeting people, visiting a historic building, attending an interfaith event.
- Not allowed: joining prayers, singing hymns of worship, kneeling or bowing with the congregation, taking communion or holy water.
- Temples with idols are more serious. Enter only for a clear need and never while worship to idols is going on around you.
If prayer time comes while you are there, pray. The whole earth was made a place of prayer for this ummah. Al-Bukhari records that Ibn Abbas prayed in churches except those with statues, and Umar avoided their churches because of the images. So pick a clean spot where no image or statue is in front of you. A church hall or corridor is usually best.
Respect matters too. Do not mock what you see or argue with worshippers. A calm, courteous Muslim guest often leaves a better impression of Islam than any debate. See Islam and Christianity for what the two faiths share and where they differ.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-An'aam 6:108
وَلَا تَسُبُّوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَدْوًۢا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍۢ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِم مَّرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٠٨﴾
And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do.
Respect toward the places and objects others hold sacred.
Sahih al-Bukhari 335
Sahih... وجعلت لي الأرض مسجدا وطهورا ...
"The earth has been made a place of prayer and a means of purification for me."
Prayer is valid anywhere clean, including inside a church.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibahah, on Muslims entering a church. Entering a church or synagogue without need is disliked, and he inclines to the dislike being tahrimi.
- al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, Kitab al-Salah, Bab ma yufsid al-salah wa ma yukrah fiha. Praying with images in front of the worshipper is makruh.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Salah, the chapter on places of prayer. The Hanbali view that praying in a clean church is allowed.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.