Conservative Moral Politics in the Polish Discourse about LGBTQIA+

This paper summarises a pilot study aiming to apply George Lakoff’s concept of moral politics in the Polish context. Based on an analysis of a corpus built from articles published in Polish rightwing weekly magazines between 2019 and 2021 and addressing the topic of the LGBTQIA+ community, the text argues that the way of formulating and expressing views regarding socio-political issues systematically depends on an implicitly applied cognitive model of morality (in this case, the strict father morality postulated by Lakoff).

* Tekst powstał w ramach projektu „Bóg, obywatel, religia i wspólnota w polskim dyskursie o LGBTQIA+” (DEC-2020/04/X/HS1/01584) finansowanego ze środków przyznanych przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach konkursu MINIATURA 4.

There has been an academic interest in fatwas regarding abortion since the 1980s (Anees 1989; Rispler-Chaim 1993, 2003; Faúndes, Barzelatto 2006). With the globalisation of ummah – the Islamic community – and the expansion of the internet, online fatwas have started to provide normative answers to inquiries from Muslims from all over the world. Van den Branden and Broeckaert researched non-voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide expressed in English e-fatwas (2009, 2011). Using their approach and framing e-fatwas in the context of Roy’s view on the virtual Islamic community (2000, we have selected and analysed eighty English Sunni e-fatwas on abortion. On the level of structure, these e-fatwas are very similar – often rooted in the Quran and Sunna but not classical jurisprudential discussions on the subject. On the level of content, they do not deviate from Islamic jurisprudence, which does not encourage abortion but permits it in particular circumstances during specific stages of fetal development – generally, before four months or 120 days of gestation. In the light of our study, English Sunni e-fatwas on abortion constitute an important part of Islamic bioethical teachings and thus deserve further research.

Czyściec by Michał Kondrat in the Light of Contemporary Teaching of the Church and the Pop-Cultural Turn in the Catholic Dogma

This article presents an attempt at an analysis of the fictionalised documentary Czyściec by Michał Kondrat (2020) in the context of the contemporary teaching of the Church and postulate of a popcultural turn in Catholic theology, formulated by Józef Majewski. Directing strategies, topoi, and graphic metaphors from this hybrid film – the script of which refers to Stefania Horak’s mystical experiences – are interpreted in the context of a long tradition of reflections on the topic of purgatory and the key principles of the post-conciliar teachings of the Catholic Church on this subject. These analyses and interpretations enable consideration of whether the said film aims at refreshing the forms of expression of purgatory-related topics. They also let the reader explore whether the mass-culture elements included in the film can help the viewer become more spiritually mature and whether they deepen the eschatological reflection.

Polish Antigones and Holiness in the Dis-enchanted World. Changing of the Cultural Pattern in the Relationship with Protestant Cemeteries in Poland after 1989

In this article, the authors set themselves the goal of describing the pattern of civil engagement comparable to that of Antigone in relations with the state on the case study of people associated with the “Anna Foundation,” saving the evangelical (protestant) cemetery in Gostków (Lower Silesia) from the mid-nineteenth century. The area of operation of this foundation is the local communion of multicultural influence. The research method involved reading sources, a series of qualitative interviews with activists and other subjects with “borderline experience,” a description of photographic documentation and an interpretation of the history of modernity. The article is a case study and an attempt to interpret a broader phenomenon of saving cemeteries of various denominations from destruction and oblivion in Poland after 1989. This study contributes to studies on culture and religion, and the philosophical and theological reflection of late post-modernity. In interpreting the phenomenon of civic involvement, the authors use the concepts of “disenchantment of the world,” “rationalization,” “bureaucratization” and “the garden state,” as well as “re-enchanting of the world” and “holiness in the secular age.” In the conclusions, the authors propose to correct both the definition of “world enchantment” and the definition of the inevitable secularization of the world in late (post) modernity. The authors argue that in the time of the post-pandemic crisis and the climate catastrophe, Albert Schweitzer’s “reverence for life” may be an equivalent that is appropriate for the non-rational elements of contemporary culture.

This article investigates links between religion and migration processes through a study of religious communities’ approaches towards migrants. Drawing from the religious economy perspective, the paper explores the under-researched topic of the role of migration in the dynamics of a religious field in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. The qualitative research performed in 2020 in Krakow – one of the key destinations for migrants in Poland – confirms the claims of religious economy that monopolists and quasi-monopolists are usually more reluctant to adapt to social changes. On the other hand, less-privileged but entrepreneurial religious communities are more aware of migrants’ situation, and respond to their needs in the following ways: 1) providing cosmopolitan “temporary homes”; 2) bridging cultures; 3) setting up ethno-cultural service hubs. We argue that these kinds of engagements have significant implications for the dynamics inside the religious market.

* The research behind this article was funded by the Krakow University of Economics within the project POTENCJAŁ no 32/GPM/2021/POT.