Social Space of the Regional City and a Development of Roman-Catholic Parishes in Socio-Historical Aspect

Abstract

In Poland, the Roman Catholic parish is a common and most stable local socio- religious institution which is an important part of life of the inhabitants of cities, towns and villages. It seeks to meet the basic needs of religious believers , and usually leads social, cultural and charitable roles . An important element of the parish community becomes the bond formed between the faithful , defined as lasting sense of identification with the local community and inhabited by her territory. In Poland , in the postwar period , followed by a rapid development of the industry , were created in large cities , which resulted in a change in the socio- demographic structure of the population. At that time the country was in the zone of influence of the Soviet Union , and the state power exercised Communists who created a repressive totalitarian system . Only after the fall of communism in 1989 , and the change of regime Poland is among the countries that build democracy consent to the standards of civil society. Conducted sociological studies showed that in Rzeszów since the mid- sixties, followed by a dynamic development of the structures of the parish , and the parish has become an important center for the faithful of socio -religious . The presentation includes the results of empirical studies , which are an example of the development of structures in the regional church in Poland, along with a comparative analysis of the dynamics of socio- demographic changes .

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n13p417