Religious Grammar of the Welfare State in Poland

Abstract

Religion is one of the factors that determine what welfare state model is chosen by a country. Poland is interesting in this respect because it has a fairly religiously homogenous society that looked for solutions to reconcile free market economy and social security after 1989. This country, where 95% of people are Catholics, opted for a non-obvious economic model that was far removed from Catholic social teaching. However, the Catholic Church continues to play an important role. The goal of this article is to describe the religious grammar of the welfare state in Poland. We analyse three issues that are crucial here: (1) the disagreement between the impact of primary ideologies (Pole–Catholic’s narrative) and secondary ideologies (contemporary socioeconomic trends); (2) the social functioning of the Catholic Church in relation to growing secularisation in Poland (muted vibrancy); (3) the role of the Church in the achievement of goals supporting social security in Poland.