Folk Religion and the Idea of the Catholic Nation in Poland as an Intellectual and Pastoral Heritage of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński

In the article, we present Polish Catholicism as an example of folk religion. As a result complicated political history, Catholic Church became not only depositary Christian faith and morality, but also mainstay national identity, shaped during partitions in opposition to Russian Orthodoxy Prussian Protestantism. It was then that Polishness stereotypical synonym Catholicism. The stereotype Pole—a consolidated. Poland, predominantly agricultural country, religiosity shaped, appealing sphere ideas emotions rural population or those origin settled urban centres. This form piety reinforced by Romanticism with its preferences. Romanticism, although often inconsistent dogmatics, took root circles. Its legacy is messianism collective consciousness, which dear many thinkers clergymen. tormented under partitions, plagued numerous wars, disasters, betrayals, harm caused neighbouring nations, allegory Christ suffering on cross. suggestive image appealed mass imagination Poles, transmitter. contemporary face Poland formed times so-called real socialism, when hierarchy once again defenders traditional opposing atheisation construction new identity based Soviet models. For over three decades, leader Stefan Wyszyński, Primate who promoter piety, including, particular, Marian cult. Through massive mobilisation Catholics united common religious practices, he successfully prevented secularisation society affected other communist states. That why, forty years after his death, Wyszyński can be considered architect dominant ritual nationalist trait.