RELIGION IN POLAND Matt Altman-Suchocki

Poland is a nation primarily dominated by one religion, Roman Catholicism. However, there are trace amounts of Polish people who claim to be Protestant, as well as a significant amount of people who profess allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox faith. Also, there is a small Jewish population. Catholicism dominates the religious makeup of Poland. Via cia.gov, almost 90% of the population of Poland claims to be Catholic (89.8% more specifically). The roots of Catholicism began with the inception of Christianity, starting with Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity was a general and loose term for the first few hundred years of its existence, until reformation and standardization process began taking place after Emperor Constantine I made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. The Christian religion would remain generally unified until the East-West Schism of 1054. The west would become the branch of Catholicism, headed by the Pope in Rome, while the east would become the Eastern Orthodox faith, which had its original headquarters in Constantinople. The other two religions with significant influence in Poland, Protestantism and the Eastern Orthodox faith, both have the same beginnings as Catholicism. As Christian faiths, they both began with Jesus of Nazareth and followed the same route as Catholicism, as mentioned above, until the Great Schism. The Great Schism itself created the Eastern Orthodox Church. Protestantism, however, was engendered after the East-West Schism. Protestantism began as movement to reform the Catholic Church, famously started by Martin Luther in Germany, who presented his 95 Theses to air his grievances against indulgences and other Catholic Church policies.

Judaism, on the other hand, began much longer ago. Judaism claims its roots back to Moses and the Exodus of Hebrews to Israel. Although the historical and archaeological evidence for the beginnings of Judaism are scarce, it has existed at least since 1000 BC, when David reconquered Jerusalem to establish the Promised Land promised by the writings of the Torah (also known as the Old Testament). The role of religion has been profound in Poland. Specifically, Catholicism has been an important part of Polish culture for over a thousand years. Polands first statehood began with the Polanian tribe, who united the various Slavic tribes in the region over the course of the 9th and 10th centuries. The Polanian leader Prince Mieszko decided to legitimize his fledgling nation by converting to Christianity. Even in its inception, Poland was founded on religious views. Even though this religious conversion was originally a political tactic to garner the rest of Europes respect, eventually Catholicism began to define the Polish people. After the East-West schism and the Protestant Reformation, Poland remained one of the few Catholic nations in Northern and Eastern Europe. Polands Catholic-dominated society over the years shaped its society and, more specifically, its gender roles. Before the 1900s, Polish women were averaging over 6 children per woman. There are many sacred places for the religions of Poland. Since Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox faith are all based on the foundations of Christianity, they share many of the same sacred and historical places. The Holy City of Christianity is Jerusalem. Many of the important places of ancient Christianity have Biblical origins, such as Bethlehem or Nazareth. However, there are many sacred places for Christians all over Europe. Italy, for instance, is a wondrous home to uncountable religious places and artifacts, due to Catholicisms large and nearby (Rome and Vatican City have long been the home of the Pope,

the leader of the Catholic church). However, outside Italy ancient churches and sacred places for Christianity are all over Europe. For example, Krakow, Poland is home to many sacred places. The Bishops Palace and Archdiocesan Museum, the Corpus Christi Church, St. Andrews Chruch, are just a few of the many examples of important religious places in Poland. Even for the small Jewish community in Poland, there are things like Isaak Synagogue, or the Galicia Jewish Museum, where people can explore Polands Jewish history, including information on the genocides of Polish Jews in World War II. There are many connections between Polands government and religion. Poland has been highly Christianized for over a thousand years. As mentioned above, its very first official statehood was engendered via a Christian religious foundation. However, it would not be until after World War II and the subsequent forced ethnic segregation that Poland would become absolutely dominated by Catholics. The first Communist governments attempted to eradicate religion to no avail. Catholicism itself was largely important for the fall of Communism in Poland. The Pope at the time, Pope John Paul II, was from Poland. He was the first non-Italian pope since the year 1522. His Popehood had a gargantuan influence in Poland; it served to continually reinforce Polands cultural identity and Catholic association. In 1979, he inspired Poland and other Eastern European nations by saying, concerning Communism, Let your spirit descend and change the image of the land...this land. Additionally, Poland has seen many educational systems be impacted by religious teachings. All in all, if Polands government is influenced by religion, it is influenced by Catholicism. No other religion holds any political or social esteem.

REFERENCES

1) Churches and Religious Life in Poland. http://en.poland.gov.pl/Churches,and,Religious,Life,in,Poland,397.html. Retrieved: 10/28/13.

2) Polish Culture and History. http://www.polandforvisitors.com/travel_poland/culture_history. Retrieved: 10/28/13.

3) Polish History. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/poland/history. Retrieved: 10/28/13.

4) Religious Denominations in Poland. https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Religious_denominations_in_Poland. html. Retrieved: 10/28/13