The Image of the Church, the Clergy, and Religion in the Polish Cinema in 1968–1990

Abstract

The article examines the representations of the Catholic Church, clergy, and religion in the Polish feature films produced between 1968 and 1990. The analysis follows a problem-based structure, addressing portrayals of priests and members of religious orders, depictions of religious ritual, and the cinematic manifestations of the divine and the metaphysical. The chronological framework is defined by the post–March 1968 reorganization of Poland’s film industry and by the release, after 1989, of works still created under the constraints of the socialist state. The study identifies a gradual transformation in the cinematic treatment of religion. During the era of the “success propaganda,” religious motifs appeared only sporadically, whereas the so-called cinema of moral anxiety and the productions of the “Solidarity carnival” employed more complex representations of priests – at times as the moral guides or symbolic figures of the opposition. Nevertheless, an ambivalent image persisted: priests were often portrayed negatively, while monks and nuns tended to receive consistently positive characterizations. In the 1970s and 1980s, the scope of the religious imagery expanded to include sacraments, funerals, pilgrimages, and attempts to frame metaphysical experience on screen. These developments indicated a departure from the earlier anti-religious propaganda, even though the on-screen presence of clergy remained disproportionately low relative to their actual social significance – largely due to self-censorship and systemic constraints. The article situates these cinematic representations within broader processes of secularization and the enduring religious identity of the Polish society, highlighting their cultural and political dimensions.