A Vocation or a Profession? A Religious and Secular Dimension of the Hierarchical Priesthood in the Consciousness of Polish Youth

Abstract

The hierarchical Priesthood is a subject of research of the humanities, including the sociology of religion. The hierarchical Priesthood is also a matter of interest for average people, especially for those who believe deeply in God and are religious. In this article I reveal the approach, the attitudes and the critical assessments of Polish youth towards the Priesthood and priests. The population involved in the research are students of selected general and profiled high schools in Kalisz (456) and students of the College of Communication and Management in Poznań from four majors: sociology, pedagogy, IT and management (426). My research was performed twice in 2011, in order to discover the way and scope of secondary school and college students’ attitudes towards the institution of Priesthood and priests in Poland. In the time between those two rounds of research, in Poland there had been some major socio-political and economic changes that affected the position and role of the Catholic Church in the Polish state and its appreciation in the Polish nation. The question is whether those changes affected the attitudes and critical estimates of Polish youth towards the Priesthood and parish priest. This question shall be answered in my article. Generally, the examined group of secondary school students in Kalisz and college students in Poznan have demonstrated positive attitudes towards the Priesthood and the priests are perceived as a factor helping people fulfill their religious and moral duties. This help is provided by priests in various ecclesial environments. In the opinion of these respondents, the hierarchical priesthood is in particular a religious vocation, and at the same time a special work (occupation) that requires from the priests dedication, courage, empathy and faith in God.Students more often add that these priesthood qualities should be demonstrated by candidates for priests. No doubt, young Poles know that some of the priests do not match those requirements and reached Priesthood in an unfair way without a religious vocation. The examined secondary and college students in 78% of cases do not agree with the institution of obligatory celibacy, calling it into question as unfounded and unrealistic. They are convinced that priests should have their own wives and families, just like in other Christian Churches, and at the same time serve people with their religious competence in the Church.. The celibacy and marriage should be, according to their opinion, totally voluntary, contrary to contemporary situation. They say that obligation in such matters can affect the true vocation of priests. Not every priest, as the examined youth state, is prepared to live in celibacy even though he has a religious vocation. So the successful Priesthood is strictly connected with the vocation coming from God and not with celibacy and solitude. A priest who is married and has his own family, in their opinion, can also serve God and people in the structures of the Church. However, the priest should be a very faithful, religious and human (people) loving person. For such priests there should be a place in the Church, the respondents say.