The Role of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland: A Public Opinion Analysis

Abstract

Catholicism in Poland is a cultural religion, a civil religion, and a political religion. This empirical study focuses on the role of the Church in Poland for the last ten years. The data, originating from the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) in Poland, is analyzed with statistical methods, including linear regression and Kendall’s rank correlation. This empirical study divides CBOS data into three parts: religiosity, society, and politics. The results show that religiosity is still strong in Poland, but the Church is losing popularity. The local parish’s influence on maintaining adherents is weakening, resulting in the privatization of religious faith. Poles hold deep religious convictions but still dislike priests’ involvement in politics. The Church should reflect on the demand and supply sides of Catholicism in Poland to prompt radical changes in Church activities. Pope Francis advocates an outgoing church and emphasizes “start[ing] with children,” which can inspire the Polish Church to work out a strategy.