Symbolika narodowa i religijna centrum pielgrzymkowego w odniesieniu do współczesnej tożsamości Polaków

The National and Religious Symbolism of Pilgrimage Centres in Relation to the Modern Polish Sense of Identity

Summary: The article is concerned with certain aspects of the contemporary role of pilgrimage centres in the transformation process which is currently taking place in Polish society's sense of identity. As the 20th century draws to a close, the dynamics of European culture are tending towards the evolution of new forms of a collective sense of identity, and the search for new, but also the revival of old, symbolic forms of expression for society's collective existence. The traditional forms of worship are acquiring new functions, thereby becoming an important factor in the creation of new identities. In contemporary Europe pilgrimage is an expression both of the traditional kind of religious piety, individual and collective, and of the Post-Modernist pluralist culture, a quest for a distinct and specifically local sense of identity. Pilgrimage may also become the means of expression for an ideology or political identity. Under Communism religious pilgrimage in Poland had a political and national dimension; it was a symbol of the links between national and religious identity, and the continuity of tradition. The national mission of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland was associated with a search for the symbolic framework for collective worship and celebration that was common to many European countries. Jasna Góra is of course Poland'sprincipal pilgrimage centre from the point of view of national identity. In the period under Communist domination this central symbol of patriotism was the destination of all who could not see themselves in the officially endorsed view of the world and who wished to demonstrate this. Jasna Góra is now in a new situation, in a country whose society is experiencing an identity crisis. The ideological divisions have become more complex; the role of the Church has changed; the social and cultural identity of the Polish people is coming to be more like a pluralist mosaic in character. The focus for the nation's pilgrimagesis turning into a battlefield for the ideological identity of Polish society and for the continuation of its national and religious tradition.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 1996, z.4, s. 103-112.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

Pełny tekst (57 KB)