Changes in intensification of religious involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland

Abstract

Introduction The emergence of the virus Sars-CoV-2, and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, caused a global threat to public health. In such challenging and worrying situations it can be expected that people will seek comfort in religion. However, before the pandemic there were never such wide world disruptions of religious practice–because of social distancing regulations, religiosity cannot be practiced in the same way as it was before the pandemic. Methods Two anonymous online surveys were conducted of adult Poles, one during the second wave (N = 1072; November 2020) and one during the third wave of the pandemic (N = 1080; April 2021). The survey samples of participants reflected the Polish population structure in terms of age, sex, size of place of residence, education, and province. Results Participation in institutional religious practices fell threefold to 11.9% during the pandemic, as compared to pre-pandemic times (31.2%). The number of people who did not go to church at all increased from 23.1% to 57.0%. Between the second and third waves, there was a small return to regular practice (from 10.1% to 14.1%). Based on the subjective assessment of the amount of time devoted to prayer, fewer people reporting an increase (10.6%) than a decrease (20.1%) in religious commitment during the pandemic. Logistic regressions showed that an increase in religious commitment can be predicted by older age, more frequent participation in religious practices before the pandemic, and higher life satisfaction. A decrease in religious commitment can be predicted by younger age, less frequent participation in religious practices before the pandemic, and greater number of children in the household. Conclusion Our research indicates a deintensification of religious practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The pandemic has accelerated process of polarization of Polish religiosity.

Highly Religious Young Poles in the Process of Transformation

“…In the period between 2018 and 2021 alone, the percentage of respondents who regularly practice religion decreased by 11 percentage points, while the number of nonpracticing individuals increased by 14 percentage points (from 35% to 49%). These trends are consistent with the results of other studies carried out in Poland, which indicate the impact of the pandemic on the decline in religious commitment and suggest the polarization of religiosity (Bożewicz 2022;Bożewicz and Boguszewski 2021;Boguszewski, Makowska and Podkowińska et al 2022).…”

Correlation between religion, spirituality and perception of healthcare services utilisation in Poland during COVID-19 pandemic

“…In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown that women were more likely than men to attend mass, say prayers, and were more enthusiastic about national leadership and local churches ( Meza, 2020 ; Francis & Village, 2022 ). Interestingly, a study conducted among Poles during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no statistical significance with regard to the correlation between gender and religious commitment ( Boguszewski, Makowska & Podkowińska, 2022 ). In addition, statistical analysis showed that women for whom religion is important rated the quality of healthcare services higher before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”