Political Parties and Religion in Post-Communist Poland

This book examines the role of religion and the Catholic Church in post-communist Polish politics. It outlines the special circumstances of Poland, a country with very high levels of religiosity, where the Catholic Church played a crucial role in the process that led to the collapse of communism in 1989.

Aleks Szczerbiak is Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex. He is the author of Poland within the European Union: New Awkward Partner or New Heart of Europe? (Routledge, 2012) and Politicising the Communist Past: The Politics of Truth Revelation in Post-Communist Poland (Routledge, 2018).

Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - A key political actor: The Catholic Church and politics in post-1989 Poland Chapter 3 - Mobilising Catholicism politically: Explicitly pro-clerical right-wing parties Chapter 4 - Promoting Catholics values?: The Law and Justice party Chapter 5 - Flirting with Christian Democracy: Pro-Church right-wing and centrist parties Chapter 6 - Mobilising anti-clericalism: Anti-Church left-wing and liberal parties Chapter 7 - Conclusion