The idea of secularism in the Polish parliamentary campaign 2019

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to assess the degree of presence of the idea of secularism in the election programs of the main political parties participating in the Polish parliamentary elections in 2019. The article adopts the understanding of the so-called political secularism which was referred to the institution of the Roman Catholic Church due to the context of research, as well as the fact that Catholics constitute the dominant part of Polish society and because of the major socio-political importance of the Catholic Church in Poland. The research material were the electoral programs of party election committees, as well as the speeches of their political leaders delivered during the main electoral program conventions. The article increases the cognitive value of the issue of political communication regarding the idea of secularism during the parliamentary campaign of 2019. Research has shown that religion has become an important factor in political discourse during the parliamentary campaign in Poland in 2019. The topic about the role of the Catholic Church institutions in the public sphere was, however, taken up only through Law and Justice and the Left. A clear polarization of views of these election committees was noted. Law and Justice spoke out against the idea of secularism, while the Left supported this idea. The Confederation, Polish People’s Party and Civic Coalition remained silent in the election programs about the idea of a secular state.