What was the role of religious symbols in the 'Solidarity' movement after August 1980?
The being of the culture underlies in symbols, i.e. in meanings and values which are being
assigned to humans’ behaviour and their products. Symbols are the signposts of the culture,
rooted in its past, they are making areas saturated with meanings and values. They are also an
expression of social emotions. In a culture symbols are taking a special place. "A culture is
a system of signs which is used for interpersonal communication" - wrote Umberto Eco.
The Roman Catholic Church played, without a doubt, a significant role in the process of
creation of Solidarity. „For centuries Roman Catholicism has been an important part of the Polish national identity, and the Church has been a symbol of freedom and opposition to foreign oppressors.” In the Polish history the Church repeatedly played the role of the guard of the national awareness. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the role of religious symbols, in a social movement of Solidarity after its birth in August of 1980. This work is too limited to explore all aspects of religious symbols. However, I would like to pay attention to a few of them. At first, I will begin with a short analysis of connections between the Solidarity movement and the Roman Catholic Church and then I will continue to show a different fields of social life at which religious symbols turned up.
Artykuł w całości można pobrać poniżej.
The article can be downloaded below.
The being of the culture underlies in symbols, i.e. in meanings and values which are being
assigned to humans’ behaviour and their products. Symbols are the signposts of the culture,
rooted in its past, they are making areas saturated with meanings and values. They are also an
expression of social emotions. In a culture symbols are taking a special place. "A culture is
a system of signs which is used for interpersonal communication" - wrote Umberto Eco.
The Roman Catholic Church played, without a doubt, a significant role in the process of
creation of Solidarity. „For centuries Roman Catholicism has been an important part of the Polish national identity, and the Church has been a symbol of freedom and opposition to foreign oppressors.” In the Polish history the Church repeatedly played the role of the guard of the national awareness. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the role of religious symbols, in a social movement of Solidarity after its birth in August of 1980. This work is too limited to explore all aspects of religious symbols. However, I would like to pay attention to a few of them. At first, I will begin with a short analysis of connections between the Solidarity movement and the Roman Catholic Church and then I will continue to show a different fields of social life at which religious symbols turned up.
Artykuł w całości można pobrać poniżej.
The article can be downloaded below.
what_was_the_role_of_religious_symbos_in_the_solidarity_movement_after_august_1980.pdf |