Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

One of the most important issues for the Polish Episcopate under communism was moral evaluation of differential sexual activities. Bishops believed that along with other immoral activities, homosexuality was resulted from the popularization of Marxism and atheization of symbolic culture and customs. This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of the episcopal writings from 1945–1989 and their evaluation in light of Michel Foucault’s theory in order to discuss the specifics of the Polish episcopal power in the context of the narrative on homosexuality. I highlight the doctrinal context of the Polish Episcopate’s thought: biblical sources, selected historical points that show the tendencies in the formation of teaching about homosexuality in the Church, and the universal Church’s magisterial thought from the second half of the twentieth century. Moreover, I indicate the factors characterizing the episcopal discourse’s content and language about homosexuality. I treat the statements of bishops as impacting the construction of: (1) social knowledge about sexuality; (2) the agency of homosexuals, meaning their experience of themselves and events in Poland.