Religion in Poland Between Tradition and Modernity, or Religious Continuity and Change in Conditions of Transformation

Abstract

This chapter aims to show two parallel processes—continuity and stability of position of religion in Poland after 1989 and some important element of ongoing change. The chapter starts by showing the context of broader changes of the religious field in Central and Southeastern Europe caused by the collapse of communism. The dominant feature of that time, freedom, was felt personally by people and it was also accompanied by the changes of legal and political regulations concerning religion. What was observed in many countries (as in Russia, for instance) could be called a collective conversion from atheism to religion. But it was not the case in Poland, where religion, subjectively (as religiosity) and objectively (Roman Catholic Church) was strong and did not leave the place for conversion but rather the opposite, as the collapse of communism created space for conversions from religion. In this context, the stability of religious attitudes of the Poles is fascinating and the second part of the chapter is devoted to the explanation of this phenomenon. However, in spite of the stability of general indicators, there are important symptoms of changes, especially visible in young generation, which is discussed in the last, the third part of the chapter.