Religiosity, the Catholic Church, and Politics in Poland

Abstract

Relationships between the religious system, the government, and politics are almost as old as man. They have accrued practice, theory, a varied his- tory, and, in modernity, much research. This is perhaps obvious to many but is mentioned here because this text cannot take into consideration all the reference points of local and comprehensive history, the various theoretical approaches, and the many empirical studies. Thus, all references in this chapter will be selective in nature and attention will be drawn to research findings. Above all, the focus will be on describing and, inasmuch as possible, explaining the formation of the Church–state relationship in Poland after the fall of communism in 1989, and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and religiosity on the political sphere between 1989 and 2015.