Slavic Native Faith in Poland

Slavic Native Faith in Poland (Rodnovery; Polish: Rodzimowierstwo) has in 2007, according to Scott Simpson, between 2000 and 2500 "actively engaged and regular participants".^[1] In 2020, Konrad Kośnik and Elżbieta Hornowska estimated that Rodnovers in Poland were between 7000 and 10,000.^[2]

History

In 1818, the Polish folklorist and Slavophile Zorian Dołęga-Chodakowski (pseudonym of Adam Czarnocki; 1784–1825) stated that Poland "must return to [the] native faith". According to that, he's recognised as precursor of the Slavic Native Faith in Poland.^[3] Another precursor in Poland was Jan Sas Zubrzycki (1860–1935), who elaborated the doctrine of Bogoznawstwo (Polish calque of theology).^[4]

In the interwar period, a few movements emerged in Poland, recognized as early Polish Slavic Native Faith followers: the Święte Koło Czcicieli Światowida ("Holy Circle of Worshippers of Svetovid"; 1921) of Władysław Kołodziej (1897–1978), Demiurg (1934), and Zadrugism (1937) of Jan Stachniuk (1905–1963).^[5] Another example is the pilot and army officer Zdzisław Harlender (1898–1939), who advocated Polish Native Faith in his book Czciciele Dadźbóg Swarożyca ("Worshipers of Dadźbóg Swarożyc", 1937).^[6]

The rapper and music producer Donatan is a self-declared adherent of Slavic Native Faith.^[7] He released his debut album Równonoc (English: Equinox) in 2012 and is a prolific music producer in Poland; he produced the song "My Słowianie (We Are Slavic)" which represented Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.^[8]

Demographics

In 2013, Simpson noted that Slavic Native Faith remains a "very small religion" in Poland, which is otherwise dominated by Roman Catholicism.^[9] He suggested that there were under 900 regularly active members of the main four registered Polish Native Faith organisations,^[10] and around as many adherents belonging to smaller, unregistered groups.^[11]

In 2017, he stated that between 2000 and 2500 "actively engaged and regular participants" were likely active in the country.^[1] In 2020, Konrad Kośnik and Elżbieta Hornowska estimated between 7000 and 10,000 Rodnovers in Poland.^[2]

Simpson observed that in the country, Slavic Native Faith's adherents were "still relatively young",^[12] and saw an overlap with the community of historical re-enactors.^[11] Kosnik and Hornowska observed that despite being young, Polish Rodnovers were spiritually mature and had joined the religion as it satisfied deep personal needs.^[13] They also observed that males constituted the majority of the community.^[13]

Rodnover organisations in Poland

V Poland-wide Slavic Native Faith Congress

The major organisation of Rodnovery in Poland is the Rodnover Confederation.

There are five formally registered religious organisations:

Native Polish Church;
Polish Slavic Church;
Religious Organisation of Polish Rodnovers "Rod";^[14]
Rodzima Wiara ("Native Faith");
West-Slavic Religious Organization "Slavic Faith".

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b Simpson 2017, p. 82.
^ ^a ^b Kośnik & Hornowska 2020, p. 74.
^ Simpson 2000, pp. 50–51.
^ Simpson & Filip 2013, p. 28.
^ Simpson 2000, pp. 67–80.
^ Simpson 2012, p. 11.
^ Simpson 2017, p. 77.
^ BBC 2014.
^ Simpson 2013, p. 120.
^ Simpson 2013, p. 115.
^ ^a ^b Simpson 2013, p. 118.
^ Simpson 2013, p. 119.
^ ^a ^b Kośnik & Hornowska 2020, p. 91.
^ "Powołanie nowego związku wyznaniowego" [Creation of a new religious association]. Duchtynia (in Polish). 13 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017.

Sources

BBC Online (2014). "Eurovision Song Contest - Songs 2014: Poland".
Kośnik, Konrad; Hornowska, Elzbieta (2020). "A Preliminary Quantitative Study of the Mysticism and Religious Maturity of Contemporary Slavic Neopagans in Poland". Religio: Revue pro religionistiku. 28 (1): 73–93. doi:10.5817/Rel2020-1-6. ISSN 1210-3640.
Simpson, Scott (2000). Native Faith. Polish Neo-Paganism at the Brink of the 21st Century. Religiologica Juventa. Kraków: Zakład Wydawniczy Nomos. ISBN 8388508075.
Simpson, Scott (2012). "Strategies for Constructing Religious Practice in Polish Rodzimowierstwo". In Anczyk, A.; Grzymała-Moszczyńska, H. (eds.). Walking the Old Ways: Studies in Contemporary European Paganism. Katowice: Sacrum.
Simpson, Scott (2013). "Polish Rodzimowierstwo: Strategies for (Re)constructing a Movement". In Kaarina Aitamurto; Scott Simpson (eds.). Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe. Durham: Acumen. pp. 112–127. ISBN 9781844656622.
Simpson, Scott (2017). "Only Slavic Gods: Nativeness in Polish Rodzimowierstwo". In Kathryn Rountree (ed.). Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Modern Paganism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 65–86. ISBN 9781137570406.
Simpson, Scott; Filip, Mariusz (2013). "Selected Words for Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe". In Kaarina Aitamurto; Scott Simpson (eds.). Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe. Durham: Acumen. pp. 27–43. ISBN 9781844656622.