ABSTRACT
With the collapse of communism, Polish society has started to redefine national values and concentrate more on group interests. The idea of national unity through an enemy has appeared again more sharply. There are a lot of similarities between the implementation of the Marxist ideology fifty years ago and Catholic ideology presently. A good example is the same lack of respect for the law and the less than democratic way it was created. The position and actions of the Polish Catholic Church betray the Second Vatican Council's acknowledgment of the validity of the separation between church and state. One of the first steps of the Catholic Church's indoctrination was the introduction of religious education in public schools. Catholic fundamentalism and the ideology of a free-market economy constitute the biggest threat to women's rights and their status in society. The Catholic Church and closely cooperating right-wing parties have created a very unfavorable political climate for women's rights.
