ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the role of religion, particularly the Catholic Church, in Polish funeral tradition. The participation of Catholic priests and liturgy is much bigger than in the rest of Europe. The Catholic ceremony consists of three stations, which take place at home, in the church, and at the cemetery. Although the funeral home is the main director of the rite, the roles of lay and church officiants are constantly negotiated. As of 2022, there were 207 churches and religious associations in Poland. Specific legislation governs the relationship of 15 religious groups with the state, outlining the structure of that relationship and procedures for communal property restitution.
This chapter also describes religious funeral traditions of the Orthodox Church, Protestant churches, Judaism, and other faith groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, and Karaism. A brief socio-cultural background of the functioning of the church in the Polish lands and the most important funeral rites are included. Although Poland is currently a country dominated by Catholicism, the characteristics of the above churches are important because Poland was a multi-ethnic and multireligious community where the Catholics, Orthodox, Jews and Muslims, and subsequently, Protestants, lived side by side in full concord. Moreover, the Constitution of the Republic of Poland states that churches and other religious organizations shall have equal rights. It stipulates that the relationship between the state and churches and other religious organizations shall be based on the principle of respect for autonomy and mutual independence.
