The pandemic: a time of fears, prayer, and social transformations

Abstract

The article analyses social behaviours characterising Polish society in the face of an epidemiological threat, both in the past and contemporarily. It shows how the fear of falling ill limited, and limits, the functioning of Polish society during times of epidemics. Furthermore, it highlights many similarities in how Polish people behaved during times of plague in the 17th century and during the current Covid-19 pandemic, while simultaneously exposing the differences. These differences are particularly visible in popular attitudes towards religion. Whilst in the past, widespread illness and death were met with an increase in religiousity and communal devotion, currently, access to places of worship has been significantly limited. This is especially visible in the case of popular pilgrimage sites, many of which have closed down as a direct result of the pandemic.