Qualification of Freedom of Religious Assembly in the Period of Ordinary Functioning of the State and in the Legislation from the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

Abstract

The subject of this article is to present the legal qualification of the freedom of religious assembly in the period of ordinary functioning of the state and in the content of regulations from the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The analysis is concerned with determining how the legislator treats this freedom from the point of view of links between freedom of assembly and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The function of freedom of religious assembly is presented, as well as the legal model of religious freedom assembly in the conditions of ordinary state action, as well as on the ground of legal regimes possible to introduce in connection with counteracting the occurrence and effects of an infectious disease. In the research the dogmatic method was applied. Amendments to the Law on Assemblies and special law regulations have been proposed to take into account constitutional principles and values, as well as ongoing social changes.