Polish and Belarussian identity of Roman Catholic Church in Belarus. History and contemporary dilemmas

Abstract

This article discusses the complex identity of the Catholic Church in Belarus. It constitutes a response to the voices of several researchers postulating that the local Catholic Church declare itself part of the Polish nation. The author reflects on the possibility itself of a religion – whether as an institution or as a community of believers – having a national identity, and on how this issue is present in Belarus. Based on different theories regarding social identity, and on anthropological field research, conducted among priests and Belarusian Catholics in the years 2013–2017, she attempts to prove the coexistence of two non-exclusive national identities of the Church in Belarus, i.e. Belarusian and Polish. The author thus stands up to the critical voices blaming the ecclesial institutions for either the Belarutenization or the Polonization of their believers. According to the author, the perception of identity as variable and complex, i.e. composed of numerous affiliations, is a prerequisite for the reconciliation of the Polish and Belarusian identities of the Church without the necessity of choosing one of them – a concept compatible with the main attribute of the Catholic Church being its universality.