Obraza uczuć religijnych katolika w Polsce ‒ czy to możliwe?

Abstract

This article discusses the issue of offending religious feelings in the light of the Polish penal code. It is an attempt to answer the question of whether the standards really protect the values they were supposed to protect when they were established, and if so, to what extent. Is the protection of religious feelings in Poland real or is it just a fornal and legal illusion? The analysis of article 196 of the penal code and of legal writers reveals many major differences of interpretation. This leads to the conclusion that even though religious feelings are constitutionally protected, this protection seems largely illusory in practice. Apart from legislative and legal reservations, the low level of protection of religious feelings seems to be also indirectly due to some public attitudes, including the acceptance of a growing insensitivity to Christian symbols. This acceptance is only seemingly harmless. In fact, it slowly saps the sacred character of these objects. This leads to a certain blurring of the notion of insult to objects of religious worship.