55% of Poles identify with the Church and define themselves as “believers who put into practice the teaching of the Church”: that’s the finding of a recent opinion poll published by the Polish polling agency CBOS. Despite that, almost 40% of Poles prefer the looser definition “believer, but in my own way”, thus underlining their distance from the Catholic Church and the subjective character of their faith. According to CBOS, Polish religious conviction has always been characterized by a strong attachment to John Paul II, both during his lifetime and after his death. But, if in 2006 almost two thirds of Poles (72%) still said they knew the teachings of John Paul II and 78% declared they tried to apply them in their daily life, today only 45% of Poles say they know the teaching of Benedict XVI, while only 49% declare they daily apply the principles of Catholic teaching in their lives. Almost half of those interviewed admit their own ignorance on the matter. Over the last two years, the number of Poles who declare themselves non-believers or agnostics has doubled. At the present time they represent 6% of the population.
