Public Relations in the Perspective of the Catholic Church in Poland

Abstract

The issue of the use of marketing tools by religious organisations is a research problem because for moral reasons, churches declare that they do not use marketing communication explicitly. In religious circles, marketing tends to be associated with unethical practices, especially public relations, which in practice can be associated with propaganda. A careful analysis of the activities carried out by churches shows that many marketing communication methods and tools are used by religious organisations. To be successful, companies must identify the basic elements determining customer satisfaction and meet them more effectively than their competitors. At the same time, it is not about one-off transactions, but about building long-term relationships. This model is also slowly finding acceptance in religious circles, despite arguments that satisfying individual needs will be at the expense of church doctrine or will result in long-standing church traditions being abandoned and replaced by pop-cultural attitudes. The article discusses the specificity of building the brand image of the Catholic Church in Poland and the use of modern marketing tools in this process. It also presents the results of the authors’ research, which leads to the final conclusions verifying the research hypotheses set out in the research methodology. The article aims to initiate a wider discussion on the controversial topic of implementing commercial marketing tools into the image management processes of the Catholic Church. The conducted research results indicate the need for a change in the perception of the Catholic Church in Poland of the communication processes leading to the building and strengthening of its image. A major challenge for the Catholic Church in Poland seems to be changing the attitudes of non-believers towards the Catholic Church.