of the Mother of God practiced in Poland today is extremely diverse, rich and multifaceted, and therefore requires a special research approach. If we take a closer look at how the Mother of God is perceived by people for whom she is an important figure or in some cases becomes one, then we will approach the problem from a different point of view and ask other questions than those imposed by the prospect of studying "popular religiosity" and its manifestations in modern society.40
In addition, it is equally important that the attitude to the study of "lived religion", referring to cultural anthropology, puts in the center of attention the question of regional features, which requires the study of ethnographic data. The study of local specifics and the ability of the researcher to empathize (sympathize) is, in my opinion, the key point here. Among others, Inga Kuzma, who dealt with the topic of modern female religiosity associated with the cult of the Virgin Mary, wrote about the need for such openness to regional peculiarities. Kuzma successfully avoided the simple labeling that comes naturally if we take the model of "popular religiosity"as a basis. As a result, the author, inspired by empirical anthropology, provided readers with an opportunity to look into the world of inner experiences and private biographies, in which ideas related to femininity and family are lived and assimilated alongside religious feelings.41 This example shows what a field of possibilities is opening up for researchers of religion in modern Poland.

39. Radio Maria was founded in 1991 by Tadeusz Rydzyk, a monk of the Redemptorist Order. Radio is considered a mouthpiece for conservative and poorly educated segments of the population, usually of retirement age. - note.

40. На эту тему см., например: Niedźwiedź, A. (2012) "Matka Boska przeżywana, rozmowę przepr. Artur Sporniak i Marcin Żyła", Tygodnik Powszechny 34: 5-6.

41. Kuźma, I. (2008) Współczesna religijność kobiet. Antropologia doświadczenia. Wrocław: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze.

page 185
Research in the spirit of "lived religion" is not necessarily limited to the question of religious experience. As numerous contemporary works show, this approach can be successfully combined with other approaches related to the construction of space, architecture and symbols; the creation of collective narratives; the problems of power, politics; ritual and performativity; the material and sensory components of experiences; and finally, individual, gender, social and national identities.

In conclusion, it makes sense to quote the words of the Dutch anthropologist Willy Jansen, who, in the introduction to one of the newest collective publications on pilgrimage in Europe42, gave a whole list of subjects that are revealed to the researcher thanks to the concept of "lived religion":

Following a practical turn in anthropology, this book focuses on " lived religion," what people really believe and what they do, and how it shapes different identities. We reject the a priori definition of religion, instead inviting our respondents to formulate their own ideas about pilgrimage. In our research, we encounter non-religious tourists lighting candles for the soul, Muslims inviting Christian pilgrims to eat in their mosques, women bringing menstrual blood to the Catholic altar located in a cave. We describe these cases to show the wide variety of types of pilgrims and the meanings attached to these pilgrimages; we look at the motivations behind the rituals, being careful not to make any judgment about whether these travelers are "real" pilgrims or whether the menstrual ritual performed for Mother Earth is "real"religious practice. Whether such practices fall within the orthodox or conventional understanding of religion is irrelevant to our research, nor are the theological differences between church-approved beliefs and popular beliefs important to us.43
42. Jansen, W., Notermans, C. (ed.) (2012) Gender, Nation and Religion in European Pilgrimage. Farnham & Burlington: Ashgate.

43. Jansen, W. (2012) "Old Routes, New Journeys: Reshaping Gender, Nation and Religion in European Pilgrimage", in W. Jansen, C. Notermans (ed.) Gender, Nation and Religion in European Pilgrimage, p. 5. Farnham & Burlington: Ashgate.

page 186
I think it's time to start discussing the above quote - through the lens of Polish anthropology and with references to local research. This is especially important today, because Polish society and Poles live in a dynamic environment of transnational, transreligious and transdenominational ties, and they live in an environment where people are increasingly making anti-denominational choices, refusing religion or belonging to any particular denomination or church. In addition, it should be understood that the dominant Catholicism in Poland is also undergoing changes and has many guises and trends, which it is hardly appropriate to classify using the term "popular religiosity" or "elite / high religiosity". If we adopt a new point of view and start asking new questions, we have a good chance of hearing new answers.

Translation with polish Tatiana Krechko

Bibliography / References

Baraniecka-Olszewska, K. (2013) Ukrzyżowani. Współczesne misteria męki Pańskiej w Polsce. Toruń: Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej.

Bartmiński, J. (red.) (1996, 1999, 2012, 2012) Słownik stereotypów i symboli ludowych, t. 1 cz. 1-4. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.

Bowman, M. (2003) "Vernacular Religion and Nature: The ‘Bible of the Folk' Tradition in Newfoundland", Folklore 114(3): 285-295.

Bukraba-Rylska, I. (2008) "Religijność ludowa i jej niemuzykalni krytycy", Miesięcznik ZNAK 3: 11-30.

Czarnowski, S. (1938) Kultura. Warszawa: "Wiedza i Życie".

Czarnowski, S. (1956) Dzieła, t. 1. Studia z historii kultury. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.

Eliade, M. (1996) Sacrum i profanum. O istocie religijności, tłum. Robert Reszke. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo KR.

Freedberg, D. (2005) Potęga wizerunków. Studia z historii i teorii oddziaływania. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

Gadamer, H.-G. (1960) Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzuge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik. Tubingen.

Hall, D.D. (red.) (1997) Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practice. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Hall, D.D. (1997) "Introduction", in D.D. Hall (red.) Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practice, pp. vii-xiii. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Hervieu-Léger, D. (1997) "‘What Scripture Tells Me': Spontaneity and Regulation Within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal", in D.D. Hall (red.) Lived Religion in America:

page 187
Practice of History a Toward, pp. 22-40. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Jansen, W. (2012) "Old Routes, New Journeys: Reshaping Gender, Nation and Religion in European Pilgrimage", in W. Jansen, C. Notermans (ed.) Gender, Nation and Religion in European Pilgrimage, pp. 1-18. Farnham & Burlington: Ashgate.

Jansen, W., Notermans, C. (ed.) (2012) Gender, Nation and Religion in European Pilgrimage. Farnham & Burlington: Ashgate.

Kuźma, I. (2008) Współczesna religijność kobiet. Antropologia doświadczenia. Wrocław: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze.

Lubańska, M. (2007) "Problemy etnograficznych badań nad religijnością", w M.Lubańska (red.) Religijność chrześcijan obrządku wschodniego na pograniczu polsko-ukraińskim, pp. 7-31 Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego i Wydawnictwo DiG.

Łuczewski, M. (2007) "Popular Religion as Morality, Interpretation and Process", Ethnologia Polona 28: 5-21.

Ługowska, J. (1986) "Pogrzeb Matki Boskiej w Kalwarii Zebrzydowskiej", Literatura Ludowa 3(XXX): 3-20.

Morgan, D. (1998) Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious Images. Berkely, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.

Niedźwiedź, A. (2005) Obraz i postać. Znaczenia wizerunku Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

Niedźwiedź, A. (2010) The Image and the Figure: Our Lady of Częstochowa in Polish Culture and Popular Religion. Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press.

Niedźwiedź, A. (2012) "Matka Boska przeżywana, rozmowę przepr. Artur Sporniak i Marcin Żyła", Tygodnik Powszechny 34: 5-6.

Notermans, C. (2009) "Connecting the Living and the Dead: Re-membering the Family through Marian Devotion", in A.-K. Hermkens, W. Jansen, C. Notermans (eds) Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, pp. 135-147. Farnham & Burlington: Ashgate.

Orsi, R.A. (2005) Between Heaven and Earth: The Religious Worlds People Make and the Scholars Who Study Them. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press.

Piwowarski, W. (1983) "Wprowadzenie", w W. Piwowarski (red.) Religijność ludowa. Ciągłość i zmiana, ss. 5-19. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Wrocławskiej Księgarni Archidiecezjalnej.

Primiano, L.N. (1995) "Vernacular Religion and the Search for Method in Religious Folklife", Western Folklore 54(1): 236-243.

Stomma, L. (1986) Antropologia kultury wsi polskiej XIX w. Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax.

Thomas, W.I., Znaniecki, F. (1976) Chłop Polski w Europie i Ameryce, tom 1 Organizacja grupy pierwotnej. Warszawa: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza.

Tokarska-Bakir, J. (2000) Obraz osobliwy. Hermeneutyczna lektura źródeł etnograficznych. Kraków: Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Praca Naukowych Universitas.

Tomicki, R. (1981) "Religijność ludowa", w M. Biernacka, M. Frankowska, W. Paprocka (red.) Etnografia Polski. Przemiany kultury ludowej, t. 2, ss. 29-70. Wrocław: Ossolineum, Instytut Kultury Materialnej PAN.

Zowczak, M. (2000) Biblia ludowa. Interpretacja wątków biblijnych w kulturze ludowej. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Funna.

Zowczak, M. (2008) "Między tradycją a komercją", Miesięcznik ZNAK 3: 31-44.

page 188

Permanent link to this publication: