Media, religion and politics in contemporary Poland

Wydanie książki dofinansowane ze środków Uniwersytetu Śląskiego w Katowicach. Książka udostępniona w otwartym dostępie na podstawie umowy między Uniwersytetem Śląskim a wydawcą. Książkę możesz pobierać z Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Śląskiego i korzystać z niej w ramach dozwolonego użytku. Aby móc umieścić pliki książki na innym serwerze, musisz uzyskać zgodę wydawcy (możesz jednak zamieszczać linki do książki na serwerze Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Śląskiego).In Poland, a secular state remains the “pious wish” of opponents of religion in the public sphere. November 13, 2015, was the day after the swearing-in ceremony which opened the new term of the Polish parliament. On the largest Polish news portal, Onet.pl, a text with a significant title appeared: Sejm of the 8th term. How many deputies swore “without God” (2015). The author of the article named 27 deputies who took an oath without ending “so help me God.” Here, the author allowed the readers to interpret who was “righteous” or “wicked.” This figure shows that the Church-state relationship in Poland really does matter. June 1, 2018, was the day after the Corpus Christi processions on the streets. The YouTube channel called Wolność24 – Wolność i już! [Freedom 24 – Freedom Now!] showed a new film with the Butterfly-man, a disguised performer who used to disrupt one of the big Corpus Christi processions every year. This time, the Butterfly-man chose the main procession in Warsaw. A report about his performance dressed as Jesus, in a dozen or so hours, was viewed by over 60,000 YouTube users. Here we can see that the controversy of the meeting point of the Church in public space has a significant reception and this is happening even faster than ever before. Comparing these images, we perceive a certain scheme. Religion in Poland’s public space is doing very well. Those who do not enter into its framework are subject to controversy. It does not matter if their agency takes on a civilized form or breaks religious feelings and blasphemy. Today, this is happening at a faster pace thanks to digital media, while in the past, this was happening at a slower pace through traditional media. What essentially is this process? What are its dynamics?[...