New data from two Polish cities show further declines in the proportion of pupils attending Catholic catechism classes in schools, which are optional but the majority of children in Poland attend.
In Łódż, Poland’s fourth largest city, 32,178 out of 63,740 pupils now attend the lessons, known as religion (religia) in Polish, according to data presented by deputy mayor Małgorzata Moskwa-Wodnicka.
That is almost exactly 50%, marking a decline from 56% in the previous school year. In post-primary schools for older pupils, only around 21% attend.
“Already last year we noted a drastic decline…mostly in high schools but now the tendency is changing in primary schools too,” said Moskwa-Wodnicka.
Meanwhile in Częstochowa – a city famous for hosting Poland’s holiest Catholic shrine, the Black Madonna – this year only 54% of high school students (7,272 out of 14,475) are attending religion. Those figures are around 8% lower than last year and 15% lower than two years ago, according to the city’s education department.
The head of the department, Rafał Piotrowski, believes that the decline may in part be a political statement by pupils. “The majority of them can’t yet vote, so it’s a way in which they express their worldview and opinion on what’s going on around them,” Piotrowski told Gazeta Wyborcza.
The spokesman for Częstochowa archdiocese, Mariusz Bakalarz, argues that the scheduling of religion classes as the first or last lesson of the day can discourage students from attending. But he also admits that the secularisation of Polish society as well as “scandals concerning people of the church” are not “without influence” on attendance.
In Łódź, Moskwa-Wodnicka says that they “can only speculate” about the cause, but believe “it stems from the general view of the church”.
A decline in the proportion of pupils attending religion classes has been apparent for some time now around Poland, especially in larger cities.
The trend appears to have been accelerated by mass protests against an unpopular near-total ban on abortion ban that was supported by the church as well as a growing number of clerical child abuse scandals coming to light.
Polling shows that Poles – especially young ones – are becoming more liberal in their views and more critical of the church, something the Catholic hierarchy has itself acknowledged.
A report published last year by CBOS, Poland’s state research agency, revealed that less than 25% of young Poles regularly practise religion, while in the early 1990s the figure was almost 70%.
“A very strong re-evaluation is taking place in the young generation,” said one of the country’s most senior church figures, Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the Primate of Poland, commenting on the findings of the study.
Under regulations introduced in the 1990s, Polish public schools are required to organise religion classes upon request from parents of pupils or pupils who are over 18 years old. While the lessons are funded and hosted by the schools, curriculums and teachers are decided by the Catholic church.
Main image: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
