From church religiousness to spirituality : the transformation of religion in the early 21st century

Abstract

Social development leads to increased autonomy of the individual areas of social life. Each of them becomes a kind of individuality, specificity and independence of the others in their respective functions. This situation is also reflected in the sphere of religious life. In contemporary societies there is a lack a unambiguous compliance to religious and social norms as the religious monopoly to a particular religious confession was broken. Religion in a pluralistic society is changing in its function. One of the key approaches describing the transformations associated with the sphere of religious experiences are the theories of secularization. Currently, secularism is no longer understood as simply the disappearance of religion, and more often the specific changes that occur in the sacrum. It may be stated that in the reality of contemporary Poland, the traditional religious practices, which can be referred to as church religiousness, is still dominative. It should be noted, however, that new forms of religious activities are more and more highlighted. While there has not been a radical transformation of religious attitudes, there has been a strong shift towards spirituality.