Between Declaration and Commitment. The Religious Practices of Young Polish Emigrants in the United Kingdom

The present study concerns the declaration of faith among young Polish emigrants in Great Britain and their conscious involvement in parishes or Polish institutions. It is common, especially among young people, to notice a discrepancy between the declaration and the conscious participation that is its practical confirmation. It is also a fact that there is a phenomenon of change in the religious landscape of Polish émigrés in Great Britain with particular reference to the abandonment of the practice of faith. The main question therefore concerns the relationship between declaration, knowledge and involvement in the life of Polish parishes and institutions. The research carried out indicates that a secularising context, different from that in Poland, underlies the abandonment of private prayer and public religious practice. Increasingly, a change is also observed already at the level of declarations in relation to religiosity, as well as knowledge of the Catholic Church, which is the most numerous institution for Polish emigrants in Great Britain, and other Polish diaspora organisations. It appears that contemporary young Polish émigrés living in the UK do not pay attention to nurturing the spiritual factor in themselves, and are not even interested in the existence of institutions aimed at shaping their religiosity or national identity.