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Catholic Church in Poland

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"Polish Church" redirects here. For other uses, see Polish Church (disambiguation) and Polish Catholic (disambiguation).


Catholic Church in Poland
Polish: Kościół katolicki w Polsce
Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń
TypeNational polity
ClassificationCatholic
OrientationLatin and Eastern Catholic
ScriptureBible
TheologyCatholic theology
PolityEpiscopal
GovernanceKEP
PopeFrancis
Primate of PolandWojciech Polak
PresidentStanisław Gądecki
DivisionsArchbishop
DivisionsBishop
RegionPoland
LanguagePolish, Latin
HeadquartersWarsaw, Poland
FounderMieszko I
Origin966
Civitas Schinesghe
SeparationsPolish-Catholic Church of Republic of Poland
Protestantism in Poland
Official websiteKEP
Monument in Poznań to Karol Wojtyła, a Pole who was Pope John Paul II from 1978 to 2005.

Polish members of the Catholic Church, like elsewhere in the world, are under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Latin Church includes 41 dioceses. There are three eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the country, with members of the Armenian Catholic Church under the Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in Poland.[1] The oridnaries of these jurisdictions comprise the Episcopal Conference of Poland. Combined, these comprise about 10,000 parishes and religious orders. There are 40.55 million registered Catholics[2][3]: 4  (the data includes the number of infants baptized) in Poland.[4] The primate of the Church is Wojciech Polak, Archbishop of Gniezno. In the early 2000s, 99% of all children born in Poland were baptized Catholic.[5] In 2015, the church recorded that 97.7% of Poland's population was Catholic.[2] Other statistics suggested this proportion of adherents to Catholicism could be as low as 85%.[6][7] The rate of decline has been described as "devastating"[8] the former social prestige and political influence that the Catholic Church in Poland once enjoyed.[9] On the other hand, a 2023 survey of 36 countries with large Catholic populations using data from the World Values Survey revealed that 52% of Polish Catholics claimed to attend Mass weekly, the seventh highest of the nations surveyed and the highest among European countries.[10] Most Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism. About 71.3% of the population identified themselves as such in the 2021 census, down from 88% in 2011.[8]

History[edit]

Further information: Christianization of Poland

Ever since Poland officially adopted Christianity in 966, the Catholic Church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country post-schism. Identifying oneself as Catholic distinguished Polish culture and nationality from neighbouring Germany, especially eastern and northern Germany, which is mostly Lutheran, and the countries to the east which are Orthodox. During times of foreign oppression, the Catholic Church was a cultural guard in the fight for independence and national survival. For instance, the Polish abbey in Częstochowa, which successfully resisted a siege in the Swedish invasion of Poland in the 17th century, became a symbol of national resistance to the occupation. The establishment of a communist regime controlled by the Soviet Union following World War II allowed the Church to continue fulfilling this role, although recent allegations suggest there was some minor collaboration between Polish clergy and the regime.[11]

The 1978 election of Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyła as Pope John Paul II strengthened the ties of identification. John Paul's visits to Poland became rallying points for the faithful and galvanized opposition to the Soviet regime. His beatification in 2011 and canonization 3 years later further instilled pride and joy in the Polish people. In 2013, Pope Francis, John Paul II's 2nd successor (and who was made a cardinal by the Polish pope), announced that World Youth Day, the world's largest religious gathering of young people, would be held in Kraków, Poland in 2016.

In 2013 a succession of child sex abuse scandals within the Church, and the poor response by the Church, became a matter of some public concern.[12] The church resisted demands to pay compensation to victims.[13]

Number of Catholics in Poland[edit]

Procession in Wrocław, 2009.

As of 2023, a majority of Poles, approximately 71%, identified themselves as Catholic, and 58% said they are active practicing Catholics, according to a survey by the Centre for Public Opinion Research.[14] According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, 95% of Poles belong to the Catholic Church;[15] this survey bases the number of adherents on the number of infants baptized,[4] as provided by the Catholic Church. The CIA Factbook gives a number of 87.2% belonging to the Catholic Church in 2012.[16] In the biggest part of Europe, the rates of religious observance have steadily decreased. However, Poland still remains one of the most devoutly religious countries in Europe. Polish Catholics participate in the sacraments more frequently than their counterparts in most Western European and North American countries. A 2023 study by the Church itself revealed that 98.5% of Poles go to confession at least once a year, while 97% of the respondents say they do so more often than once a year.[17] By contrast, a 2005 study by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate revealed that only 14% of American Catholics take part in the sacrament of penance once a year, with a mere 2% doing so more frequently.[18] Tarnów is the most religious city in Poland, and Łódź is the least. The southern and eastern parts of Poland are more active in their religious practices than those of the West and North. The majority of Poles continue to declare themselves Catholic.[19] This is in stark contrast to the otherwise similar neighboring Czech Republic, which is one of the least religious practicing areas on Earth, with only 35% declaring "they believe there is a God" of any kind.[20]

A 2014 survey conducted by the Church found that the number of Polish Catholics attending Sunday Mass had increased by two million over the last decade, with 95% of baptized Catholics regularly attending Mass in 2014.[12][21] At the same time, however, this partly results from the fact that since 2004 2.1 million Poles have emigrated to Western Europe.[21] Writing for the Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny, Church sociologist Rev. Prof. Janusz Mariański has noted that these two million Polish emigrants are still listed in their parish records as members, so when Mass attendance is measured such emigres lower the official records.[22] The proportion of Mass attendees receiving Holy Communion is rising, while the number of Polish Catholic priests continues to rise as ordinations outpace deaths in Poland, though the number of nuns is decreasing.

Religious practice[edit]

Corpus Christi in Sanok

The Centre for Public Opinion Research regularly conducts surveys on religious practice in Poland. A 2012 document reported that for more than a quarter-century church attendance and declarations of religious faith have been stable, decreasing only minimally since 2005 when the grief related to the death of Pope John Paul II led to an increase in religious practice among Poles. In a 2012 study, 52% of Poles declared that they attend religious services at least once a week, 38% do so once or twice a month, and 11% do so never or almost never. Meanwhile, 94% of Poles consider themselves to be religious believers (9% of whom consider themselves "deeply religious"), while only 6% of Poles claim that they are non-believers.[23] According to the Church's own sources,[3]: 4  36.3% of Catholics required to attend the Sunday Mass, take part in it.

Easter continues to be an important holiday for Polish Catholics. According to a 2012 study by the CBOS (Centre for Public Opinion Research), 74% of Poles make an effort to participate in the sacrament of penance before Easter, 59% make an effort to attend the Stations of the Cross or Gorzkie żale (an increase of 6% since 2003), 57% want to improve themselves for the better (an increase of 7%), 49% want to help the needy (an increase of 8%), and 46% want to pray more .[24]

A CBOS opinion poll from April 2014 found the following:

Lenten and Easter observances: Do you...? (CBOS 2014 poll)[25]
Fast on Good Friday 83%
Go to Easter Confession 70%
Have ashes put on your head on Ash Wednesday 64%
Take part in the Easter Triduum celebrations 56%
Take part in an Easter retreat 53%
Take part in the Way of The Cross 52%
Celebrate the Resurrection 48%
Do you try to limit entertainment during Lent? (CBOS 2014 poll)[25]
Yes
 
 53%
No
 
 44%
Hard to say
 
 3%
During Lent, do you think about your life more often? (CBOS 2014 poll)[26]
Yes
 
 38%
No
 
 60%
Hard to say
 
 2%

Apostasy[edit]

See also: Apostasy in Christianity

During the October 2020 Polish protests, enquiries regarding the procedure for apostasy from the Polish Catholic Church became popular. Web search engine queries showed high frequencies for "apostasy" (Polish: apostazja) and "how to do apostasy" (Polish: jak dokonać apostazji), and a Facebook event titled "Quit the church at Christmas" was followed by 5000 people.[27]

As of 2020, the formal apostasy procedure in the Polish Catholic Church is a procedure defined on 7 October 2015 by the Episcopal Conference of Poland, which became effective as of 19 February 2016.[28][29] It can only be done in person, by delivering an application to a church parish priest. The procedure cannot be done by email, post, or state administrative services.[30]

Latin territories[edit]

  • Archdiocese
    • Diocese

Latin names of dioceses in italics.

Map of Poland with dioceses
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Ukrainian Greek Catholic territory[edit]

Map of Poland with eparchies

Other jurisdictions[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://ordynariat.ormianie.pl/index.php/ordynariat/ordynariat-sub
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland (2014)" (PDF). stat.gov.pl.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae in Polonia AD 2017" (PDF). Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae in Polonia (in Polish). 2017 (2017). Instytut Statystyki Kościoła Katolickiego SAC. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Kościół podaje 7% ochrzczonych z kapelusza! | Www.wystap.pl – jak wystąpić z kościoła. Centrum informacji i platforma batalii". Wystap.pl. 22 August 2010.
  5. ^ Porter, Brian. "Catholic Church in Poland: Introduction". Making the History of 1989. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  6. ^ Główny Urząd Statystyczny (2014). Rocznik statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2014 (PDF). Warszawa: Zakład Wydawnictw Statystycznych. (in Polish and English)
  7. ^ US State Dept 2022 report
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Tilles, Daniel (29 September 2023). "Proportion of Catholics in Poland falls to 71%, new census data show". Notes From Poland. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Religion in Poland". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  10. ^ Jonah McKeown (29 January 2023). "Where is Mass attendance highest? One country is the clear leader". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  11. ^ Smith, Craig S. (10 January 2007). "In Poland, New Wave of Charges Against Clerics". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Matthew Day (11 July 2014). "Polish Catholics in decline". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  13. ^ Jan Cienski (11 October 2013). "Polish Catholic Church rocked by sex abuse scandal". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  14. ^ (in Polish) Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej (Centre for Public Opinion Research (Poland) CBOS). Komunikat z badań; Warszawa, Marzec 2005. Co łączy Polaków z parafią? Preface. Accessed 2007-12-14.
  15. ^ "Churches and Religious Life in Poland". poland.gov.pl. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
  16. ^ "CIA - The World Factbook". CIA. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  17. ^ "80% Polaków chodzi do spowiedzi – Wiadomości – WP.PL". Wiadomosci.wp.pl. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  18. ^ "A Comeback for Confession". Time. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 October 2007.
  19. ^ "Liczenie wiernych w kościołach". Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  20. ^ "Social values, Science and Technology" (PDF). Eurobarometer. June 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2006.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sunday Mass attendance falls below 40% in Poland". CatholicCulture.org. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  22. ^ "Dwa miliony wiernych nie odeszło z kościoła - raczej wyemigrowało". Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  23. ^ "CBOS potwierdza. Zdecydowana większość Polaków uznaje się za katolików". wPolityce.pl. April 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  24. ^ "CBOS: Polak może nie chodzić do Kościoła, ale jajkiem się podzieli". Wprost. April 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Małgorzata Omyła-Rudzka (April 2014). "PRAKTYKI WIELKOPOSTNE I WIELKANOCNE POLAKÓW" (PDF) (in Polish). CBOS. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  26. ^ Mirosława Grabowska (December 2013). "RELIGIA I KOŚCIÓŁ W PRZESTRZENI PUBLICZNEJ" (PDF) (in Polish). CBOS. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Apostazja - czym jest i jak wiele osób dokonuje jej w Polsce?" [Apostasy - what it is and how many people do it in Poland?]. Polsat news (in Polish). 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  28. ^ Stanisław, Gądecki; Miziński, Artur G. (7 October 2015). "Dekretu Ogólnego Konferencji Episkopatu Polski w sprawie wystąpień z Kościoła oraz powrotu do wspólnoty Kościoła" [General Decree of the Episcopal Conference of Poland regarding quitting the Church and returning to the Church community] (PDF). Episcopal Conference of Poland (in Polish). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  29. ^ "Procedura wystąpienia z Kościoła" [Procedure for quitting the Church]. Apostazja Info (in Polish). 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  30. ^ Chabasiński, Rafał (25 October 2020). "Procedura apostazji – jak wystąpić z Kościoła?" [The apostasy procedure - who can you quit the Church?]. bezprawnik (in Polish). Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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