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* '''3%''' answered that "don't know".
* '''3%''' answered that "don't know".


According to the most recent [[Centre for Public Opinion Research (Poland)|CBOS]] opinion poll published in the fall of 2008:<ref>{{pl icon}} [http://www.ekumenizm.pl/content/article/20080925183042429.htm ''94% Polaków wierzy w Boga'']</ref>
According to [[Centre for Public Opinion Research (Poland)|CBOS]] opinion poll published in the fall of 2008:<ref>{{pl icon}} [http://www.ekumenizm.pl/content/article/20080925183042429.htm ''94% Polaków wierzy w Boga'']</ref>


* '''94%''' of Poles claim "they believe in God",
* '''94%''' of Poles claim "they believe in God",

Revision as of 15:58, 27 August 2014

Religion in Poland (Eurobarometer 2012)[1]

  Catholic (91%)
  Orthodox (1%)
  Other Religion (2%)
  Atheist (2%)
  Non believer/Agnostic (3%)
  Not stated (1%)
Cathedral in Radom.

The population of Poland is 86.7% to 91% Roman Catholic,[2][3][4] a numerical dominance resulting from the German Holocaust of Polish Jews and war casualties of other Polish,[5][6][7][8] and the flight of German Protestants from the Soviet army at the end of World War II.

Catholicism plays an important role in the lives of many Poles and the Roman Catholic Church in Poland enjoys social prestige and political influence.[9] The Church is widely respected by its members, who see it as a symbol of Polish heritage and culture.[10] Poland is the most Catholic country in Europe except for Malta with a higher proportion of Catholics than Italy, Spain and Ireland. The rest of the population consists mainly of Eastern Orthodox (504,150 believers, Polish and Belarussian),[3][4] various Protestant churches (about 145,600, with the largest being the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland with 61,738 members)[3][4][4] and Jehovah's Witnesses (129,270). Other religions practiced in Poland include Islam and Judaism.[3][4]

History

From the beginning of its statehood, different religions coexisted in Poland. With the baptism of Poland in 966, the old pagan religions soon disappeared over the next few centuries; however Christian Poles coexisted with a significant Jewish segment of the population.[11][12] In the 15th century, the Hussite Wars and the pressure from the Vatican caused tensions to rise between Catholics and emerging Protestants after the Edict of Wieluń (1424).[13] The Protestant movement however gained a significant following in Poland, and while Catholicism retained a dominant position, the liberal Warsaw Confederation (1573) guaranteed wide religious tolerance.[13] Resulting counter-reformation eventually succeeded in reducing the scope of tolerance by late 17th and early 18th century, as evidenced by events such as the Tumult of Torun (1724).[13][14][15] When Poland lost the last vestiges of its independence to foreign invaders in 1795, Poles were subjected to religious discrimination for 123 years under German rule and Imperial Russia.[16] According to a 2011 survey by Ipsos MORI 85% of the Poles are Christians, 8% are irreligious, atheist or agnostic, 2% adhere to unspecified other religions, and 5% did not give an answer to the question.[17]

Mass attendance

A 2012 opinion poll conducted by CBOS found the following:[18]

  • 6% attended Mass or religious services more than once a week.
  • 48% attended Mass or religious services once a week.
  • 18% attended Mass or religious services around once or twice a month.
  • 20% attended Mass or religious services a few times a year.
  • 8% did not attend Mass or religious services at all.

A 2004 Gallup report found that 63% of Poles attend Mass or religious services at least once a week.[19]

Theism polls

A 2012 opinion poll conducted by CBOS found the following:[18]

  • 9% of Poles were deep believers in God.
  • 85% of Poles were believers in God.
  • 3% of Poles rather did not believe in God.
  • 3% of Poles definitely did not believe in God.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2010:[1]

  • 79% of Polish citizens responded that "they believe there is a God".
  • 14% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
  • 5% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".
  • 3% answered that "don't know".

According to a CBOS opinion poll published in the fall of 2008:[20]

  • 94% of Poles claim "they believe in God",
  • 6% claim they "do not believe in God or do not know",
  • 52% of believers claim "they attend to mass, religious meetings etc. at least once a week",
  • while 17% do so "once or twice a month",
  • 18% do so "a few times a year",
  • and 13% "never do so".

The Polish Constitution and religion

File:St Florians.jpg
Roman Catholic St. Florian's Cathedral, Warsaw

According to Poland's Constitution freedom of religion is ensured to everyone. It also allows for national and ethnic minorities to have the right to establish educational and cultural institutions, institutions designed to protect religious identity, as well as to participate in the resolution of matters connected with their cultural identity.

Religious organizations in the Republic of Poland can register their institution with the Ministry of Interior and Administration creating a record of churches and other religious organizations who operate under separate Polish laws. This registration is not necessary; however, it is beneficial when it comes to serving the freedom of religious practice laws.

The Slavic Rodzimowiercy groups, registered with the Polish authorities in 1995, are the Native Polish Church (Rodzimy Kościół Polski) which represents a pagan tradition that goes back to Władysław Kołodziej’s 1921 Holy Circle of Worshipper of Światowid (Święte Koło Czcicieli Światowida), and the Polish Slavic Church (Polski Kościół Słowiański),[21] There's also the Native Faith Association (Zrzeszenie Rodzimej Wiary, ZRW), and the Association for Tradition and Culture Niklot (founded in 1998).

Major denominations in Poland

Denomination Members Leadership
Catholic Church in Poland[22]
 • Roman Catholic
 • Byzantine-Ukrainian
 • Armenian 		33,399,327  • Józef Kowalczyk, Prymas of Poland
 • Józef Michalik, Chairman of Polish Episcopate
 • Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio to Poland
 • Jan Martyniuk, Archbishop Metropolite of Byzantine-Ukrainian Rite
Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church 504,150 Metropolitan of Warsaw Sawa
Jehovah's Witnesses in Poland 129,270 Warszawska 14, Nadarzyn Pl-05830
Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland 61,738 Bishop Fr. Jerzy Samiec
Old Catholic Mariavite Church in Poland 23,436 Chief Bishop Fr. Michał Maria Ludwik Jabłoński
Pentecostal Church in Poland 22,429 Bishop Fr. Marek Kamiński
Polish Catholic Church (Old Catholic) 20,402 Bishop Wiktor Wysoczański
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland 9,654 Fr. Paweł Lazar, President of the Church
Christian Baptist Church in Poland
 • Baptist Union of Poland 		4,864 President of the Church : Gustaw Cieślar
Evangelical Methodist Church in Poland 4,352 Ruler of the Church, Bishop Edward Puślecki
Church of God in Christ 4,140 Bishop Andrzej Nędzusiak
Evangelical Reformed Church in Poland 3,488 President consistory Dr. Witold Brodziński
Catholic Mariavite Church in Poland 1,980 Bishop Damiana Maria Beatrycze Szulgowicz
Christian Community Pentecostal 1,588 Bishop Roman Jawdyk
Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland 1,222  • President of the Main Board Piotr Kadlčik
 • Chief rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich
Islamic Religious Union in Poland 1,132 President of the Supreme Muslim College Stefan Korycki

Sources[3][4]

There are roughly 125 other minor religions and faith groups registered in Poland.[22]

Selected locations

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Discrimination in the European Union in 2012 - T98 and T99. Cite error: The named reference "Special Eurobarometer 393" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ name="Special Eurobarometer 393 ">Discrimination in the European Union in 2012 - T98 and T99.
  3. ^ a b c d e Główny Urząd Statystyczny (2012). Rocznik statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2012 (PDF). Warszawa: Zakład Wydawnictw Statystycznych. Template:Pl icon/Template:En icon
  4. ^ a b c d e f Główny Urząd Statystyczny (28 March 2013). "Wyznania religijne stowarzyszenia narodowościowe i etniczne w Polsce 2009–2011" (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2013. Template:Pl icon/Template:En icon
  5. ^ Project in Posterum, Poland World War II casualties. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  6. ^ Holocaust: Five Million Forgotten: Non-Jewish Victims of the Shoah. Remember.org.
  7. ^ AFP/Expatica, Polish experts lower nation's WWII death toll, Expatica.com, 30 August 2009
  8. ^ Tomasz Szarota & Wojciech Materski, Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami, Warsaw, IPN 2009, ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6 (Introduction online.)
  9. ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica - Religion in Poland".
  10. ^ Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007. "Poland".
  11. ^ Piotr Stefan Wandycz (1980). The United States and Poland. Harvard University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-674-92685-1.
  12. ^ Jerzy Lukowski; W. H. Zawadzki (6 July 2006). A Concise History of Poland. Cambridge University Press. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-0-521-85332-3. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  13. ^ a b c Hillar, Marian (1992). "The Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791: Myth and Reality". The Polish Review. 37 (2): 185–207. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  14. ^ Jerzy Jan Lerski (1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-313-26007-0.
  15. ^ Beata Cieszynska (2 May 2008). "Polish Religious Persecution as a Topic in British Writing in the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Century". In Richard Unger; Jakub Basista (eds.). Britain and Poland-Lithuania: Contact and Comparison from the Middle Ages to 1795. BRILL. p. 243. ISBN 90-04-16623-8.
  16. ^ Anna M. Cienciala, The Rebirth of Poland, at http://web.ku.edu academic lectures.
  17. ^ Views on globalisation and faith. Ipsos MORI, 5 July 2011.
  18. ^ a b Boguszewski, Rafał (April 2012). "ZMIANY W ZAKRESIE WIARY I RELIGIJNOŚCI POLAKÓW PO ŚMIERCI JANA PAWŁA II" (PDF). CBOS. p. 5. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  19. ^ Religion in Europe: Trust Not Filling the Pews, Gallup, September 21, 2004.
  20. ^ Template:Pl icon 94% Polaków wierzy w Boga
  21. ^ Simpson, Scott (2000). Native Faith: Polish Neo-Paganism At the Brink of the 21st Century
  22. ^ a b "Society". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2002. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
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