Disney World moves to reduce Catholic, Protestant services

Walt Disney World is scaling back its weekly Catholic and Protestant services.

After Christmas Day's service at the Contemporary Resort, the theme park resort does not plan to have an organized Christian worship at the resort until Easter.

Disney officials cited problems with space and said it no longer seemed appropriate to hold worship services for only two religions when plenty of churches and synagogues surrounding the resort could meet the need.

Two Catholic Masses and one nondenominational Protestant service had been held at the Polynesian Luau resort since 1975.

Christmas and Easter services will continue.

"As our guest population has grown, so has the diversity of cultures that visit our theme parks," said Rena Callahan, a Disney spokeswoman. "Places of worship that have grown up around our property are best suited to meet the wide array of spiritual needs of our guests."

No religious services are conducted at Disneyland or on Disney's two cruise ships.

An official with the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said Disney's decision was more a matter of indifference than hostility to religion.

"This is just one further step away from what once was a core constituency of religiously motivated 'family values' clientele," said the Rev. Richard Land.