Hi all,
I’m interested in accurately mapping various community and religious centres (like churches, mosques, gurdwaras, etc.) to better reflect local resources. Could anyone share tips or resources on comprehensive tagging for these features in the UK?
I want to ensure information like building types, accessibility, and community services is captured usefully. What key tags do you typically use, and are there any common pitfalls to avoid?
Cheers for your insights.
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Hello,
A few years ago I created a video tutorial for mapping places of worship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lVuKtNgrkY
It was accompanied by an explanation of OpenStreetMap for people of faith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxSBco8DgC4
That second video includes sections on how the data can be used, and what is (or isn’t) appropriate to put into OpenStreetMap.
What tags you use depend how much it’s being used. The main maps will show an icon based on amenity=place_of_worship and the value of “religion”. I don’t think any other tags are used by websites, although I will sometimes query the data for the “denomination” tag when I want to know about churches(religion=christian) in an area.
Other than that, there is of course related mapping for people using these places. On the buildings add nodes with entrance=main/yes and wheelchair=yes/no/limited can be really useful when you’re trying to visit a place of worship.
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Thanks 
Also worth noting the building and building:use tag. In my area there are commercial shop-type premises being used as churches and mosques; (building=retail; amenity=place_of_worship); and churches (with spires and tall windows, etc) being used as apartments (building=church; building:use=apartments).
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