Obraz świata doczesnego w polskim dyskursie katolickim
The Image of the Temporal World in the Polish Catholic Discourse

Author(s): Marzena Makuchowska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: The article shows the increased presence of the image of the evil world i n t he c ontemporary Polish Catholic discourse. Teaching about the evil nature of this world (earthly, temporal) belongs to the theological truths of Christianity, but the fearful, pessimistic image of reality is also a means of combating phenomena, ideas, etc. unaccepted by the Church. The author limited her analysis to the word world and its closest lexical vicinity, which evaluates this concept negatively. They are: adjectives such as de‑Christianized, impious; vocabulary that creates an image of the world’s activity in doing evil, a world subject to degradation, a place where bad things happen, a world that needs God’s mercy, rescue and change, etc. The presence of this image is on the one hand a convenient rhetorical measure that organizes a sermon, and on the other — a manifestation of the continuation of the dichotomous language that divides into its own and enemies. The negative image of the world (and Europe) also serves to maintain the autostereotype of good, Catholic Poland.

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