Między ujarzmiającym a wyzwalającym – o autorytecie Kościoła wychowującego z wierzącymi
Between Coercive and Emancipatory: Believers on the Authority of the Church

Summary/Abstract: The distinction between coercive and emancipatory authority points to the dynamics of the influence of authority upon the person who recognizes it. The Catholic Church in Poland enjoys great authority but what sort of authority is it, in the opinion of faithful Catholics, a liberating or an enslaving one? The conclusions will be based on the results of questionnaire surveys and focus interviews conducted among the students and academic staff of a Catholic university. The analysis of the survey results enabled us to define two different problems. The first is signaled by young believers who expect an emancipatory Church but are confronted with the manifestations of a coercive one. The second problem is a group of believers who are unable or unwilling to take the risk of decision-making and expect the clergy to instruct them “what to think” and “what to do”. Thus they accept the coercive authority of the Church thus fixing their personal immaturity.

• Details
• Contents