Czy miesięcznice smoleńskie były uroczystościami religijnymi? Prawo a polska kultura religijna
Were the monthly Smoleńsk commemorations religious celebrations? Law and Polish religious culture

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on the example of the conflicts around the monthly Smolensk commemorations in 2017, the article discusses the issue of taking into account the tradition of Polish religious culture in cases pursued under article 196 of the Penal Code. Using the rule of cultural defense as an analogy, the Author recalls the historical roots of traditional Polish religiosity whose main features crystallized in the baroque (Sarmatism) era. One of the most important features of this religiosity is the close connection between religion and politics. The lack of statehood in the period of partitions and during the communist times enhanced, in a similar way to the diasporic culture of Judaism, the interconnections between religion and secular spheres of life. The Author suggests taking into account the cultural factor when analyzing cases pertaining to offending religious feelings that arise nowadays as the dominant character of traditional religious culture is being undermined. The clash between traditional culture and the liberal and leftist heritage of the Enlightenment (which determines contemporary Polish legal culture) has led to growing divergences in the symbolic sensitivity and perception of the axiological foundations of the State. The preamble to the 1997 Constitution illustrates these divergences well.

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