Ortodoksja i herezja w relacjach ludzi i zwierząt
Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Human–Animal Relationship

Summary/Abstract: The discourse on the human–animal relationship has recently received wider attention in Poland. Periodicals with different ideological backgrounds have taken strong and mutually exclusive positions. This social phenomenon provides an opportunity to apply a novel theoretical approach to sociological analysis. In regard to theory, this paper shows how categories of heresy and orthodoxy can be applied beyond theology. The proposed outline of Christian heresiological discourse is used to indicate aspects worth considering in analyses of the changing relationships between humans and animals. In particular, the focus is on how people present themselves and their doctrine as orthodox while viewing their opponents as heretics holding heretical principles. The empirical analysis covers the special issues on animals published by influential Polish periodicals between 2017 and 2019. These periodicals (Newsweek Polska, Polonia Christiana, and Tygodnik Powszechny) were chosen for their different world-views. The paper demonstrates how relationality, inherent in the heresy–orthodoxy pair of concepts, allows to bring out contradictory narratives regarding the postulated way of perceiving animals and shaping human–animal relationships. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the present conflicting views and spill-over effects, as well as of the dynamic process of recognising these views as true or false. Considering the heresiological discourse makes it possible to better understand the competition for cultural dominance.

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