Postawy religijne osób żyjących w małżeństwach pozasakramentalnych

Abstract

The principle of indissolubility of matrimony in the lives of Catholics encounters grave difficulties. More and more often this principle is violated. We find in the dissolution of mar nage and establishing a new, nonsacramental marriage. The question of the latter bears many difficult social, psychological and pastoral problems. The authors have taken up the question of religious attitudes of those people who live in nonsacramental marriages. In keeping with this end an empirical research has been carried out on the group of 120 people. The main criterium of selection was a nonsacramental character of marriage in which lived the people under study. Two groups were distinguished. IN the first one there were people who lived in marriage due to an obstacle which made it impossible for them to establish a sacramental marriage (30 couples). The second group consisted of those who had no such obstacles, and yet did not decide to establish a sacramental marriage (also 30 couples). All persons under study defined themselves as believing. In the research we used the so-called Scale of Religious Attitudes by Dirk Hutsbach. This scale was worked out in the Institute of Psychology in Leuven. For the Polish edition it was worked out and translated by W. Prężyna. Our findings have proved that there are differences in attitudes adopted by the persons living in nonsacramental marriages. The spouses who have an obstacle harbour less religious doubts and attribute to religion a greater significance in man’s life than the spouses who have no such obstacles. There are also differences in religious attitudes due to sex. The women who live in nonsacramental with an obstacle have a greater sense of guilt and oppose religion more fervently than the women who live in nonsacramental marriages without an obstacle. On the basis of their findings the authors have put forward some pastoral conclusions which may be used in pastoral practice.