Church and Democracy in Poland: Two Views

For a number of historical reasons, religious and national identity in Poland have over a long period become almost indistinguishable; nowhere else has the convergence been so strong (with the possible exception of Ireland). Since the definitive triumph of the Counter-Reformation in the 17th century, the Roman Church has enjoyed a virtually monopolistic position among ethnic Poles; the Lutheran and Calvinist communities have been reduced to tiny minorities (in the 16th century, Calvinism was well-established among the nobility); sectarian movements have not achieved any significant size; and Judaism has not become a spiritual rival to the Church as its influence was felt in a different social milieu. There were, of course, sceptics, atheists, anticlericals, freemasons and freethinkers, chiefly among the educated classes, and they grew in number. Yet until the second half of the 19th century Polish culture was emphatically Catholic. To be sure, some of the outstanding writers who in the 19th century contributed decisively to shaping the “Polish spirit” could not—by any standards—be counted among ultramontanist bigots: some were philosophically highly unorthodox, and anti-Roman or anticlerical views were by no mea...