| Description |
The Catholic Church has long played an influencial role in Poland. Most Poles identify themselves as Catholic and consider the Church as symbolic of Polish national identity. However, as Poland emerges from the communist era, the Church finds its influence among Poles diminishing. Most Poles believe the Church exerts too much influence over the political sphere and do not approve of an institutionalized role for the Church in Polish politics. The Church still maintains a great amount of influence over its traditional core, the peasants and those living in rural areas. But the intellectuals, urbanites and many workers would rather see the Church playa more symbolic role in Poland. Even though Poland has been called the second most Catholic country in Europe next to Ireland, recent events have called this statement into question. The Church supports Poland's strict abortion law passed soon after 1990. But the recently elected Parliament is more secular and has made efforts to overturn it as well as reduce the role of the Church in government. The Polish people, likewise, support a more liberal policy on abortion. Their reaction to the law is one way to measure the influence of the Church in Poland. Comparing the influence of the Church in Ireland with its influence in Poland reveals that the Polish Church doesn't command nearly as much influence as the Irish Church. The Polish Church as it stands today is more similar to the Church in Germany. As in Germany, Polish Catholics support the Church in its role as symbol of the nation, but reject the Church as an institution of government. Thus they support the notion of Poland as a Catholic country, but do not want the Church to have a privileged position. In order for the Polish Catholic Church to maintain its special position in Poland it must, as it did during the communist era, co-exist with the more secular government. If it does not, it risks losing support of the laity, from whom it claims to derived its right to influence over Poland. |
