Motivations for the Faith and Religious Practices of Adult Catholics in Poland in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. Based on the Results of Sociological Research

Abstract

In the article I answer three questions: 1) What arguments did adult Catholics in Poland use at the turn of the twenty-first century to justify their religious faith? 2) What motivated adult Polish Catholics to pursue their religious practices at the turn of the century? 3) Why did adult Catholics in Poland relinquish their religious faith and observance of religious practices at that time? These questions form the basic problem of the undertaken research. The answers to these questions are provided by the results of sociological research and public opinion polls carried out in the second half of the 20th century and in the two first decades of the 21st century. A detailed presentation of the scientific research to date and a sociological analysis of its results are appropriate for studying the subject referred to in the title. Research results show that at the turn of the century adult Catholics in Poland variously justified their religious faith and their own religious practices. However, they were most likely to declare religious motivation. For various reasons, too, some adult Catholics abandoned their religion and observances. Most often, however, they pointed to personal reflection and their own choice of an atheistic attitude (unbelief) and renouncement of religious worship. Departure from religion was more common among adult Catholics in the 20th century than in this century.