Activism and ‘lived religion’: challenging the anti-refugee attitudes in Poland

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article addresses the role played by religion in humanitarian aid for refugees and migrants of various faiths in predominantly Catholic Poland. Although the country has accepted small numbers of refugees for years, the discussion about their presence as well as the state of the asylum system has captured the attention of the general public in 2015. The European ‘refugee crisis’ sparked a fierce debate, further aggravated by the parliamentary and presidential elections that took place that year. The Roman Catholic Church was quite vocal in the debate, with representatives’ attitudes ranging from supportive to ambiguous and outright hostile. In this article, we focus on the grassroots initiatives at the margins of the Church that challenged the negative narratives and helped refugees and migrants. Based on empirical research we analyze the proclamations and activities of these actors. We show how the ‘refugee crisis’ became a “moment of ethics” (Zigon 2008) that encouraged people to help others in need. We explore how the diverse support for the refugees established a space to conceive of religion and moral values as they are lived (McGuire 2008) and translated into activism.