Poland and Czech Republic
Essay title: Poland and Czech Republic
From a simplistic historical perspective, religion has always been symmetrically matched with religious states as well as religious politics. One of the most pervasive myths regarding the Catholic Church is that its sole purpose is to “tend to the spiritual needs of the people.” But on the contrary, the Church is, and for the most of its existence has been, a profoundly political organization. (Behind the Crisis) One country that exemplifies this concept of Church as a political organization is Poland. Contradictorily one country whose majority of the population is not Roman Catholic and is not as influenced by religion is Czech Republic. I will be looking in depth as to how religion plays a role in political influence and social prestige of both counties.
Both Poland and Czech Republic are located in the center of Europe and share a common history. Poland was an independent state for most of its history. Even while it was a part of the socialist world, it kept its independence and enjoyed fundamental privileges among socialist countries, such as prevalence of private property in agriculture and the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church in spiritual life. The Polish nobility were famous in Europe for their liberal rules and liberal freedoms at the time when many other European countries were authoritarian monarchies. Poland had a parliament and even some democratic practices for centuries even before it was partitioned by the end of the eighteenth century. (Larissa) Polands Catholicism had puzzled outside countries when in 1980 Polish workers astonished the world by setting genuinely independent labor unions when the president of the time Lech Walesa was holding a crucifix and by burly strikers. This was just the beginning of the Solidarity movement. Even after the revival of the Polish Labor movement, the outside world was left with the mystery of the strange conflicting coexistence between the Catholic Church and the Communist Party. (Flame of Faith). During the post communist transition Poland became a liberal democratic state belonging to Europe politically and economically.
“Today Poland is predominantly urban and much more educated, yet the Church thrives. Its popularity seems largely due to the postwar regime. The Communist government nationalized industry an broke up the large, privately owned rural estates and in the process deprived the Church of its traditional allies, the industrialists and the large landlords, with official political opposition banned, the Catholic Church was thrust into a new and unexpected role. As the regime was increasingly associated with oppression, injustice and inequality, the spiritual prestige of the Church rose accordingly. It became a symbol of resistance and a focus of hope in 1980 [dramatic confrontation] between Solidarity and government. This profoundly altered the position of the Church. Up to then the Catholic Church had been the only outlet for opposition to the government. And now Solidarity was fighting for the rights of every section on society, including the Churchs right to continue religious broadcasting.” (Flame of Faith)
The origin of philanthropy is closely tied to Christianity. Christian beliefs were a strong motivating force for disseminating the ideas of charity, love, and assistance to those in need. As early as in the 13th century, the first foundations supporting churches and spiritual education were established within the Catholic Church, which played a dominant role throughout the Middle Ages in creating charitable institutions. Other spiritual roots took hold as well, including the development of the brotherhoods of Jewish religious communities, and non-religious philanthropy grew as urban centers began to flourish. The emergence of the Hussite religious reform movement in the 15th century and the beginning of the Renaissance period greatly reduced the influence of the Catholic Church, and the cities and communities assumed a greater role in the fields of social care, welfare, education, and training. During the period of Enlightened Absolutism in the later half of the 18th century, and under the reign of Joseph II, the church became increasingly under state surveillance. Many monasteries, brotherhoods, and orders were dissolved. The state introduced a new school system, with schools and universities chaired by secular officials. As a result, the role the Church played in philanthropic activities was more and more taken over by the state. (Working Papers)
The fact that recognized churches receive state subsidies indicates that there is no clear separation between church and state yet in the Czech Republic. In a way, this is a legacy of the Communist regimes overall tendency to control all civic activities, including religious ones, by