Since the end of communist rule in Poland in 1989, there have been dramatic changes in Church-state relations and in the religious sphere more generally. These changes may be grouped into four sets. First, among Catholics, belief in various Church doctrines and participation in religious rites (such as attendance at Sunday liturgy) have declined tangibly. Second, in spite of the aforementioned erosion of Catholic belief, the Church has nonetheless been able to change the legal framework of the state in several ways in areas of interest to the hierarchy – in particular where the ban on abortion, the blocking of IVF treatment, and the protection of “Christian” values in the broadcast media are concerned. Third, revelations concerning the extensive friendly contacts between Catholic clergy (including some bishops) and the state Security Service –especially the passing along by the former of information of interest to the latter – have eroded the prestige of Catholic clergy. And fourth, the operation, since 1991, of an anti-Semitic and anti-liberal Catholic radio station under the direction of Father Tadeusz Rydzyk of the Redemptorist Order has made its contribution to the religious/secular polarization in Poland today.
Sabrina P. Ramet is a Professor of Political Science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), in Trondheim, Norway. Born in London, England, she was educated in Philosophy at Stanford University, received her MA through the University of Arkansas, and earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from UCLA in 1981. She is the author of 12 scholarly books, among them Thinking about Yugoslavia: Scholarly Debates about the Yugoslav Breakup and the Wars in Bosnia and Kosovo (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). She is also editor or co-editor of 31 books. Her books have been published in Croatian, French, German, Italian, Polish, and Serbian translations. Her latest book is an edited volume – Gender (In)equality and Gender Politics in Southeastern Europe: A Question of Justice, co-edited with Christine M. Hassenstab (published in April 2015 by Palgrave Macmillan). In addition to her scholarly work, she has also written a humorous short novel, Café Bombshell: The International Brain Surgery Conspiracy, and four books of humorous verse, the latest being History of Russia and the Soviet Union in Humorous Verse. She is currently writing a history of the Catholic Church in Poland, under contract with Palgrave, as well as a second novel.
