Patriotic and Political Aspects of Holy Spaces: Functioning and Perception

Abstract

Religion has always been intrinsically connected to the state and its politics. For ages, sanctuaries were, and still are, more than just religious centers. Apart from their pastoral role, which entails developing religious life, promoting and strengthening faith, and shaping the morals of the faithful, sanctuaries fulfill important political and patriotic roles. There are two levels in which this materializes within the Polish Catholic Church: ethnic, closely tied to religious values, and national, patriotic, consolidating the society and tied to national or ethnic values. During times of social or national unrest, sanctuaries, and not only those in Wielkopolska, commented on the contemporary situation, always illuminating the way people should behave. They were active participants of social debates through homilies and performative art, opposing denationalization, unification or globalization.
What is important, in holy spaces, the past is noticed, understood and interpreted by pilgrims only in the context of the present. Otherwise, it only becomes another artistic expression, relevant only because of its artistic value.