The Chapel at Dallas Airport

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The Chapel at Dallas Airport

Recently, a conservative figure expressed outrage upon discovering that Muslims were praying at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, spreading out their prayer mats, and referring to the space as "almost a mosque disguised as a chapel." It’s peculiar that she blamed this area for the choices of those who wish to worship, especially at a time when religious practice and church attendance are on the decline.

I always make it a point to visit the chapels at airports. I don’t know why, but I enjoy seeing which airports have chapels. Many of these spaces are gradually disappearing. However, Dallas has recently reinstated its chapels. At one point, this airport had two chapels, then none, and now there are three. Today, I visited two of them.

My Impressions of the Chapels

But honestly, they didn’t feel like chapels; they were more like Islamic prayer rooms under the guise of chapels. They primarily featured prayer mats, with no crosses and just a few Bibles. When I entered during prayer time, the atmosphere was quite uncomfortable. I hesitated to leave and stayed to pray throughout the men’s prayer session. They weren’t pleased to have a woman present, but eventually, they continued their prayers.

I want to encourage everyone to seek out a chapel when you’re at the airport. Go in and pray. If you have a cross, leave it behind. There really aren’t any crosses here, but there are hundreds of prayer mats. They will guide you towards Mecca, right here in Dallas. While they may not display crosses, they’ll certainly show you the way to Mecca.

The Decline of Religious Practice

The majority of travelers don’t pray while on the move. Muslim travelers do, but other religious groups in the U.S. are less active. Awareness of religion has decreased: the percentage of adults in the U.S. identifying as Christian has dropped from 78% in 2007 to 62% in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center. Participation in church has also declined: Gallup data shows that weekly or almost weekly attendance has fallen from 42% in the early 2000s to just 30% between 2021 and 2023. Currently, 57% report that they rarely or never attend.

The Current State of Religion

Despite the decline in participation, belief remains strong: Pew reports that 83% of Americans say they believe in God or a universal spirit, while Gallup finds that 81% believe in God. Last fall, a pastor shared that he was denied entry to a DFW chapel due to a Muslim prayer service, even though a sign outside clearly stated 'all are welcome.' The Muslim prayer service has been taking place at the DFW airport chapel at 1:30 PM on Fridays for quite some time.

This is not a new service. Passengers can worship whenever and however they wish. I want to emphasize that DFW airport has five chapels, one in each terminal, so I see no issue with allocating space for a religious service in one chapel once a week. This doesn’t exclude anyone else from using that space—after all, people typically choose the chapel closest to their gate when connecting flights.

A Shortage of Religious Spaces

Notably, my home airport in Austin has no chapel at all. There are also no chapel spaces in Las Vegas (where they might be needed most!), Los Angeles, or Philadelphia. Alaska Airlines once distributed prayer cards along with their meal trays. After 30 years, they ended this practice in 2012 (providing it only in first class since 2006, when they stopped serving meals in economy). This idea originally came from a marketing director who brought the practice from Continental to Alaska.

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