Religious diversity Poland

Religious Diversity in Europe - Questionnaire

The purpose of the survey was to find out how Polish learners perceive
religious diversity and draw conclusions based on the collected data. The aim was
operationalized through the development of a questionnaire.

The questionnaire Religious Diversity in Europe was created in order to
acquire answers to the questions posed. The survey was conducted using 13-16
year-olds who have studied English for at least one year prior to their arrival at the
lower-secondary school. The school is situated in Cracow which is the capital of the
Małopolskie Province. Therefore, the results of the questionnaire do not represent as
broad a student group of the lower-secondary school, but the chosen group properly
mirrors the target population in gender and level distribution.

1. A characteristic of the survey population concerning age categories and
gender distribution based on the collected data

It would have been ideal if the results of the survey had represented opinion
across gender and all age groups in lower-secondary schools in Poland, as well as
covering geographical areas and students' social backgrounds. In the case of the
survey, however, it was necessary to impose some limitations for several practical
reasons.

First of all, I had to exclude certain parts of the whole population of 13-16-
year-olds because they were inaccessible to me owing to the geographical distance
and difficulty in gaining access to them. Secondly, the time required to conduct the
survey would have been much longer if I had decided to collect data from all
respondents. Data analysis from all students of lower-secondary schools in Poland
would have required some additional information concerning their access to the

Copyright © 2011 Urszula Kogut, All Rights Reserved.

Internet and other media, their level of English, organizational differences between
schools and the society where the school is situated as well as other sociological
factors. It would have been difficult to collect such information and a more practical
approach requires the use of sampling techniques.

To overcome the problems mentioned above, a group of subjects was
selected for the study about which I could draw conclusions. It consisted of some
students of the lower-secondary school in Cracow. The learners come to the school
from different areas surrounding Cracow and from the city itself. Thus, they come
from a variety of social backgrounds and are of mixed linguistic levels. They were
both relevant and available to the questions I was studying.

A description of the participants of my survey conducted in 2011 follows in
Table 1.1. and Table 1.2.

Table 1.1. Age categories of the participants

Level category Frequency Valid percent Cumulative percent
13-year-olds 7 23.33% 23.33%

14-year-olds 13 43.34% 66.67%

15-year-olds 10 33.33% 100

Total 30 100

Table 1.2 Gender distribution of all the participants

Gender Frequency Valid percent Cumulative percent
Male 12 40% 40%

Female 18 60% 100

Total 30 100


As stated, the results do not represent as broad a student group of a lower-
secondary school as would have been ideal. However, the chosen group properly
mirrors the target population in gender and age distribution. On the other hand, the
collected data are large enough to give an interesting insight into how students
perceive religious diversity and in the way in which they gain the information about
the issue.

Considering all the requirements, a self-administered questionnaire was
chosen as less time consuming and less expensive to administer than other
methods. The type of questionnaire is usually given to respondents in written form
and may be completed without the presence of the researcher. Secondly, students
are familiar with the method of data collecting. Most of them have had some previous
experience in completing different questionnaires for educational purposes.

In the introduction of the questionnaire the relevant information about the
survey being conducted was outlined. Students were requested to complete the
questionnaire. They were assured that there were no correct or incorrect answers
and all their responses should reflect an honest personal opinion.

2. Sources of information

All of the factors mentioned above have a significant impact on the way
students acquire knowledge about different religions. Table 2.7 shows what the main
sources of information are regarding the subject of the survey.

It was an open-ended question which allowed the respondents to tick no more
than three choices but without ranking. Few students ticked only one answer, some
chose two but a large majority of respondents gave three answers. For this reason a
summarization of the total results of all level categories gives less than 90 responses.
Given that all respondents tick 3 answers the total number would be 90 responses.


Table 2.1. Comparison of the different sources of information about different religions
which students enumerate as answers to the third question

Question III Responses according to age category
13-year-olds 14-year-olds 15-year-olds Total
from parents 5 9 5 19
from teachers 3 7 4 14
from TV and films 3 6 7 16
from books and magazines 2 4 6 12
from friends 1 2 0 3
the Internet 3 9 8 20
other sources 0 0 0 0
Total 17 37 30 84

The results show that the Internet is the most frequently indicated as the
source of information for respondents. Their parents are about as good a source of
information for teenagers as the Internet. TV and films take the third place. Teachers
along with books and magazines are a bit less popular sources of information, only 3
persons indicated friends and no one pointed out to other sources of information.

The Chart 2.1 indicates that the results do not follow a similar pattern across
all age categories. As for the older ones, they look for other sources of information on
different religions and do not rely only on the knowledge acquired from their parents.
They seem more open to information coming from the media, especially the Internet
has the greatest influential impact on the youth. This is in accordance with the
general model of growing up.


Chart 2.1. Comparison of the different sources of information about different religions
that students enumerate as answers to question four

9

8

7
from parents
6
from teachers
5 from TV and films
from books and magazines
4
from friends
3 the Internet
2 other sources

1

0
13-year-olds 14-year-olds 15-year-olds

Figure 2.1. Comparison of the overall results as a percentage of the total pool of
answers to the question three

23%
4% from parents
0%
from teachers
14%
from TV and films
from books and magazines
23% from friends
the Internet
19% other sources
17%


In general, adolescents acquire information from friends less willingly than
from the Internet and parents. Other media are as popular among them as the
knowledge acquired from teachers. The research would be incomplete without
considering a broader context of the examined phenomenon. There are several
questions related to the problem which must be raised. To what extend do parents
influence their children’s world view, especially that of religion? How have their
religious beliefs influenced the beliefs of their children? There is no clear pattern,
obviously not all Christians were raised in Christian homes. Although, it is common to
adopt the beliefs of people significant in our lives. Much depends on the kind of
upbringing, strict or more relaxed, which respondents have experienced. Some
teenagers are mature enough to question and, sometimes, they are given the
support and encouraged to search on their own, to be more open minded and to look
at things differently. It seems that beliefs and religion are still so delicate and uneasy
problems that they are discussed within families or dealt on their own rather than with
friends.

3. General statements

The importance of personal beliefs leads to the next questions. Another format
was used here - it was the Likert scale. Respondents were asked to rate a statement
on a scale showing to what extent they agree with the statement. The use of an odd
number of points on the scale allowed the respondent to express a neutral attitude.
Taking into account the age of the respondents, a five point scale was used for
questions number four and five. If the number of points on the scale had been
greater, learners would have had difficulties in the differentiation between the various
degrees of agreement. the more points included in the scale, the more complicated a
question is for the respondent and the responses are less valid.


Chart 3.1. Comparison of the answers to question 4: Is it important to you to include
a religious context into school text books?

12 11

10 9

8
Students

6
6

4 3

2 1

0
strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly
disagree

Table 3.1. Comparison of the different results which students enumerate as answers
to the fourth question

Question IV Responses according to age category
strongly agree 1 2 0 3
agree 1 2 3 6
neutral 3 4 4 11
disagree 2 4 3 9
strongly disagree 0 1 0 1
Total 7 13 10 30

The distribution of the results reveals similarities among different age groups.
It allow us to summarise the corresponding numbers that represent those answers
given by the students of each age under consideration. The majority of students were
neutral about a religious context in school text books. On both sides of the ‘neutral’


option there was almost the amount of those who agreed or disagreed with the
statement.

This is quite obvious in the light of the previous results. Books are important
sources of information but there are others more often mentioned.

The next statement refers to the topic of paying attention to other people’s
beliefs. The results of the question confirmed that the differences between the first,
the second and the third years, if they occurred at all, made little difference to the
overall conclusion. The sample proved to be relatively homogenous and that is why
in analysis the answers to the fifth question may be discussed without dividing them
into age classes.

Chart 3.2. Comparison of the answers to question 5: You usually pay a lot of
attention to other people’s beliefs.

14 13

12

10
8
Students

8

6
4 4
4

2 1

0
strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree


to the fifth question

Question V Responses according to age category
strongly agree 0 1 0 1
agree 1 4 3 8
neutral 5 4 4 13
disagree 0 1 3 4
strongly disagree 1 3 0 4
Total 7 13 10 30

According to the given answers, the lower-secondary students do not care
much about other people’s beliefs related to religion. One person also added “if that
person is nice to me, I am nice to him. And never discriminate just because
somebody's beliefs are not like mine”. It is obviously important to some extent, but
they also take other things into consideration. People live within societies and
especially in Europe there is a constant intermingling and interaction of ideas,
attitudes and beliefs.

4. Open-ended questions

The next part of the survey concerned students’ knowledge about the term
‘religious diversity’ and Europe. It covered open-ended questions VI and VII which
provided some data about overall orientation on the subject. This kind of questions is
quite difficult to process because learners tend to write down the first thought that
comes into their mind without considering the content of the question.

Therefore, all the answers were discussed without dividing them into age
classes. The first step in processing responses was to note down all the answers.


Some flexibility in the approach to dealing with all the answers was necessary so that
the process could be successfully completed. In the question six students were
asked to give an explanation of ‘religious diversity’.

There were no remarkable differences among the given answers since the age
of respondents is quite close, they come from similar social backgrounds, learn in the
same school and undergo influences of the same pop culture. All of them have a
similar understanding of the concept of diversity. Below there are listed answers to
the question. Each definition brings something interesting and that is why they are
worth mentioning:

• a variety of beliefs, religions in one place, society, Europe;
• a way to educate people as well as learn about different religions;
• the existence of different religions in the world;
• different people having different views on religions and different religions in a
certain area;
• In my opinion each of us has the right to their own religious consciousness
and diversity of what we believe;
• every person must have a choice, does she / he believes in God or not and
what religion to choose;
• it is a good way to know other traditions, culture but it leads to discrimination
as well or a conflict between the followers of different religions;
• we shouldn’t be closed for only one religion, but accept and develop our
knowledge about the other religions and views;
• I understand it as the concept of freedom of other religions, that different
people may profess;
• this is a diversity of faith in your own God, in views on the world and your own
rules for life according to your religion;
• Religious Diversity is a freedom of choice;
• everyone can believe in everything, what he considers right and it should be
tolerated by other people;


• Religious Diversity for me are different religions, different beliefs but the same
God
• Religious Diversity – a mix of cultures, traditions and beliefs of people of
different nations in one place (city/country);
• I understand it as a name for all religions in the world. Each religion has own
beliefs, culture, traditions and people;
• Diversity is one of the most fascinating and important aspects of the
community’s social life. I guess that it lets everybody believe in what they want
and freely profess their religion. I think that thanks to religious diversity many
cultures can mix and exchange views on things like their religious and
theological ideas and theories. It allows people to enrich each of the religions
in a beautiful and surprising way;
• it also brings problems with reconciliation of the different beliefs;
• diversity lets us be open to new people and in this way broadens our horizons;
the freedom to believe in what people choose.
The analysis of results shows that respondents used mostly words with positive
connotations to describe the term ‘religious diversity’. Different religions have been a
fact throughout the entire history of all the world's major living religious traditions.
Religious pluralism is also another term related to the issue which goes beyond mere
toleration. Chris Beneke, in Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American
Pluralism, 2006, explains the difference between religious tolerance and religious
pluralism: "The policy of tolerance relieved religious minorities of some physical
punishments and some financial burdens, but it did not make them free from the
indignities of prejudice and exclusion. Nor did it make them equal. Those 'tolerated'
could still be barred from civil offices, military positions, and university posts."
Therefore, religious toleration is only the absence of religious persecution, and does
not necessarily preclude religious discrimination. Mark Silka, in Defining Religious
Pluralism in America: A Regional Analysis, July 2007, states that Religious pluralism
"enables a country made up of people of different faiths to exist without sectarian
warfare or the persecution of religious minorities. Understood differently in different


times and places, it is a cultural construct that embodies some shared conception of
how a country's various religious communities relate to each other and to the larger
nation whole."

There are six basic responses to religious diversity taken from Chad Meister’s
Introducing Philosophy of Religion, April 6, 2009:

• atheism: all religions are false.

• agnosticism: there’s no way to tell which religion, if any, is true.

• religious relativism: each religion “works” for its adherents, but there is no
truth about religion that transcends tradition.

• religious pluralism: all religions are correct, they just offer a different path
and have a different perspective on the Ultimate Reality.

• religious inclusivism: only one religion is fully correct, but it’s still possible to
attain salvation or nirvana through another religion.

• religious exclusivism: salvation can be attained only through the one true
religion; all others are mistaken.

We live in a world of beliefs and religions. The image below displays the
Worldwide Percentage Of Adherents By Religion as of mid 2005. According to the
data Christianity is the world's largest religion with over 2 billion adherents. This
means that one third of the whole world’s population profess Christianity.

Mark Tooley in “Thriving Christianity” (2011) reports that the number increase
worldwide with every new day:

“Christians today are estimated to number about 2.3 billion. About 1.5 billion are
estimated to attend church regularly at over 5 million congregations, up from 400,000
100 years ago.

There are estimated to be 1.6 billion Muslims, 951 million Hindus, and 468 million
Buddhists. Atheists are thought to be 137 million, a declining number. The report


estimates about 80,000 new Christians every day, 79,000 new Muslims every day,
and 300 fewer atheists every day.”

Figure 4.1.

http://timothyministries.org/theologicaldictionary/references.aspx?theword=religious%20pluralism

Therefore, Christianity is not only the largest, but, in terms of sheer numbers, it is
the fastest growing religion. Although Christianity has a massive lead throughout
history, Muslims and Hindus combined comprise the next two largest religions.


Table 4.1. Religion stats: Poland vs United Kingdom

Polish Religion stats British Religion stats
Catholics 34,573,000 4,669,000
Catholics as
95.84 8.45
percentage
Catholic > Parishes 10,036 3,168
Catholic > Total
26,931 6,003
Priests
Church attendance 55% 27%
Islam > Percentage
0.08% 2.7%
Muslim
Islam > Population 30,090 1,631,919
Jehovahs Witnesses 128,519 127,206
Jews 8,000 300,000
Protestantism > By
country > 130,000 36,000,000
Protestants
Protestantism > By
country >
0.34 % 60 %
Protestants > %
Protestant
Roman Catholic 89.8% Christian (Anglican, Roman
(about 75% practicing), Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist)
Religions > All Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%,
Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none
unspecified 8.3% (2002) 23.1% (2001 census)

Roman Catholicism
> By country > % 96 % 14 %
Catholic
Seventh-day
Adventist 5,691 24,083
Membership
http://www.nationmaster.com/compare/Poland/United-Kingdom/Religion

Discussing the approach to the term ‘religious diversity in such a widely varied
world makes sense in the light of the presented figures. Religious diversity is
perceived by students through such words as freedom, culture, education,
knowledge, toleration, consciousness, choice, tradition and acceptance. Although,


some of them pointed out some negative connotations attached to the term such as
problems with reconciliation the different beliefs or discrimination or a conflict
between the followers of different religions. It means that they are aware of both
positive and negative effects that religious diversity may bring to societies. Co-
existence between adherents of different religions or religious denominations is not
always harmonious and without problems.

Rita M. Gross in Religious Diversity: Some Implication for Monotheism (1999),
referring to the words of Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane (1957), states
that “The strong tendency to display hostility toward different religious positions is
connected with a strong tendency toward xenophobia and ethnocentrism. This
reaction seems to be built into conventional human responses and has even been
included among the major responses of religious people to their environment by the
great historian of religions.”

In the next question respondents were asked to express their understanding of
Europe. Again, it was an open-ended question focusing on students' understanding,
their ability to reason, and their ability to apply knowledge in less traditional contexts.
The question required from respondents more than memorising facts and lead to
multiple answers. That may be the reason that not all of the respondents made the
effort to answer the question. Below, there is a list of different answers given by the
students:

• Europe is rather small, but very diverse continent, a place where nations and
countries have been fighting among themselves throughout the ages, a place
where the influences of the East, South, West and the North have met and
created an original mix of cultures and nations;

• Europe is a place where everyone can feel himself, be himself. Every culture
is accepted. Europe is a beautiful, colourful and tolerant place;

• I consider Europe as a multicultural continent on which I live;


• In my view, Europe is very diverse in terms of religions and culture, but it is not
fully united and reluctant to accept any change;

• It is a difficult question, but... Europe is for me a collection of different cultures
and nationalities that exist side by side and blend together;

• Nowadays, as the European Union is so important and powerful, it creates a
great bond linking half of the European countries. Sometimes, we can even
think of them as one body! The continent is enormously developed and
economically strong. Thanks to the high standard of life we have, our
community can focus on more subtle issues, such as ecology or tolerance. I
am happy to live in such an open place, with people who care about making
our lives better and better;

• There are many religions in the Europe, but I think most Europeans are
Catholics;

• One of the Continents comprising of several countries with similar culture,
religion and kind of people;

• A group of countries being the west world basic example of culture.

There were also several answers having almost the same meaning. Students
described Europe in geographic terms as a continent, a place where there are
different cultures, religions, customs. “The countries that are the continent of Europe.
In this questionnaire specifically the people of Europe or Europe as a community.”

Some students expressed here their sympathy for Europe. The use of words
reflects positive and almost enthusiastic feelings and emotions related to the term:

• I like Europe;

• I love Europe so much I’m very happy to live in Europe.

Others tried to link the definition to religious diversity:

• People in Europe are given the freedom of choice,


• Most people in Europe believe in Jesus Christ;

• Europe is Catholic, but we do not have to pay attention to other people’s
beliefs;

• In Europe there are many different religions but majority of people believe in
Jesus Christ;

• It will be better if there are more diverse religious in Europe and every religion
will be treated fairly.

The given answers are relevant to the subject's own knowledge, feelings, life
experience and attitudes. Taking into account the age of respondents, they reflect
quite a deep understanding of the surrounding world and social conscience to the
problems it has been facing.

5. Closed-ended questions

These questions do not require such complex thinking as the previous type.
Closed-ended questions give respondents a choice of answers and the respondent is
supposed to select one or more from among a provided list. Still, respondents had to
know how to transfer and fit their thoughts to the given answers.

In the eight question of the questionnaire Religious Diversity in Europe
students had to express their opinion on the involvement of schools in programmes
that include others from diverse religious traditions. Table 5.1 shows the distribution
of their answers to the question.

It was a question which allowed the respondents to tick more than one choice
but without ranking. Some students ticked three answers, others chose two but a
great majority of respondents gave only one answer. That is why a summarization of
the total results of all age categories gives more than 30 responses. Given that all
respondents tick only one answer the total number would be 30 responses.


to the eight question

Question VIII Responses according to age category
because it wants to promote a
6 11 3 20
culture of tolerance
because it wants to give us the
opportunity to meet pupils from 1 5 4 10
the other religious communities
because it wants to give us the
opportunity to meet pupils from 0 2 1 3
other schools
because it is just one of those
1 1 0 2
things that schools get involved in
All of the above 0 1 6 7
Total 8 20 14 42

The results show that , according to students, schools get involved in
programmes that include others from diverse religious traditions in order to promote a
culture of tolerance. It was the most frequently indicated answer to the question. The
opportunity to meet pupils from the other religious communities takes the second
place. The given answers follow a similar pattern across two age categories: 13-year-
olds and 14-year-olds. Referring to the last category, 15-year-olds, it must be
mentioned that their perception of educational institutions and their roles may be
more complex than that of the previous groups. That is why they are able to see such
programmes and their implications from a broader perspective.


In general, the chosen population should be in a position to answer the
questions. Thus, while developing the questionnaire it is advisable not to ask
questions that are beyond the students' knowledge. However, there is “don't know”
response allowed to the ninth question. This was because the question required
some knowledge about majority religious group and the minorities which some
students might lack.

Students’ answers to the question nine of the Religious Diversity in Europe
questionnaire reveal that they are ignorant of the threats related to problems between
the majority and the minority religious groups. As the results show, students either do
not have sufficient knowledge on the topic or they cannot project information from
one subject to another. The problem may also be discussed in terms of the existing
educational system in Poland which is still highly structured. The divisions between
subjects, especially at lower-secondary and high levels are strict.

to the ninth question: Do you think citizens belonging to the majority religious group
in a country treat those in the minorities fairly?
Frequency

Responses according to age category Valid
Question IX
percent

Yes 1 1 6 8 26.67%

Don’t Know 6 4 3 13 43.33%

No 0 8 1 9 10%

Total 7 13 10 30 100%

The question required some knowledge from History, Citizenship, Ethics or
Religious Education and even form literature, not to mention the media and the
Internet in particular. Apart from the knowledge they acquire at school they are


members of society and citizens of Europe. Although, the population in Poland is
rather religiously homogenous, the mass media show quite a different picture of
Europe. Being a melting pot comprised of a hugely diverse population, it sometimes
faces religious riots and disturbances.

It is possible, however, that the question was too general and the respondents
did not know what should be taken into consideration. In Poland, the problem is not
so prominent as we live in the part of the world in which Christianity prevails.

The next question was devoted to different results religious diversity may
bring. And again, respondents were allowed to tick more than one choice but without
ranking. The results are shown in the following table.

to the tenth question: Do you think that any of the following are a result of religious
diversity in Europe?
Frequency

Question X
percent
Unemployment 1 2 1 4 8.89%
Immigration 1 6 4 11 24.44%
Poverty 0 1 1 2 4.44%
Civil Unrest 0 4 2 6 13.33%
Discrimination 5 9 7 21 46.67%
All of the above 1 0 0 1 2.22%
Total 8 22 15 45 100%

First of all, discrimination is perceived as the result of religious diversity in
Europe. From the broader perspective, it is common to discuss discrimination on the
grounds of religion. Another issue related to the problem is the connection between
stereotypes and prejudice which emerge from behind the shadows. Whilst the law


cannot control stereotypes or prejudice, it can address discriminatory behaviour
which may be the result of certain beliefs and attitudes.
Immigration is quite important as a result of religious diversity in Europe. It
takes the second place among the respondents’ choices. Europe is becoming more
open and quite a desirable destination for those who have suffered from religious
persecution. The policy towards different religions and denominations in Europe is
quite liberal which may attract people who have experienced mistreatment as a
response to their religious beliefs.

Some students pointed out Civil Unrest as a result of religious diversity in
Europe. Everything we encounter in our day-to-day life brings its benefits as well as
drawbacks. Diversity enriches culture, broadens our perception but it may lead to
different problems too. What is interesting, unemployment and poverty seem not to
have much in common with religious diversity in the opinion of the respondents.

Figure 5.1. Comparison of the different results which students enumerate as
answers to the tenth question: Do you think that any of the following are a result of
religious diversity in Europe?

2,22% 8,89% Unemployment
Im igration
m
24,44% Poverty
Civ Unrest
il
Discrimination
46,67% All of the above

4,44%
13,33%

In eleventh question students were asked to rate the extent to which they
would be bothered having neighbours of a different religious tradition and to respond
to the question on a 10-point scale (1 = not bothered at all - 10= very bothered). The
scale was easy to administer, as students were invited to place a mark on a visual
scale to indicate their level of agreement with a statement. The coding procedure


involved here converting the respondents' answers to numbers and counting the
frequency of each. Thus, the answer ’not bothered’ was coded '1' and ‘very bothered’
as 10.

Figure 5.2. Comparison of the different results which students enumerate as
answers to the eleventh question: Rate the extent to which you would be bothered
having neighbours who were a different religious tradition to you.

16
14
14

12

10

8
6
6

4 3
2 2
2 1 1 1
0 0
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In general students are not bothered by having neighbours of a different religious
tradition. Over 60% per cent of respondents would not attach much importance to the
beliefs of their neighbours. Definitely there are other factors such as hospitality,
understanding, politeness or friendliness that may be taken here into consideration.
Which was confirmed during panel discussions on religious diversity among the
student. They mostly pay attention to the personal features of a person rather than to
their religion. Beliefs are important in respect to moral values an what is generally
accepted in society but they do not define the person under consideration.

Religious diversity may bring about among benefits some conflicts. In the next
question, students were asked to express their opinion on what may be related to
religious diversity in such a context.


to the twelfth question: Do you think conflict related to religious diversity is brought
about by …?

Frequency
Question XII
percent

Ignorance 3 4 3 10 19.23%

Prejudice 0 6 2 8 15.38%

Fear 1 2 2 5 6.62%

Insensitivity 0 1 1 2 3.85%

Stereotyping 5 10 5 20 38.46%

All of the above 0 2 5 7 13.46

Total 9 25 18 52 100%

The question allowed the respondents to tick more than one choice but without
ranking. That is why a summarization of the total results of all age categories gives
more than 30 responses. Some of the respondents ticked only one answer, others
chose two or three , which was the maximum number allowed.
According to respondents, conflict related to religious diversity is brought
about mainly by perceiving others through stereotypes. However, a person’s
behaviour may not be consistent with relevant stereotypes and thus the question of
stereotype change which is of great importance nowadays. Stereotyping itself may
lead to discrimination even in the absence of underlying prejudice. In this way
question twelve and ten are linked and the responses to them show that they are
coherent in the given context. In general, strong and consistent attitudes or beliefs


are a stable predictor of discrimination, although the way people behave towards
others is dependent on various other resources too.

Although stereotyping is at the top of the list, students pointed out that conflicts
related to religious diversity may also be caused by ignorance and prejudice. All the
concepts, though, are linked to each other. Preconceptions once formed are very
difficult to change and, as a result, they may lead to prejudice. On the one hand,
stereotypes are powerful cognitive structures, they help people to make sense of the
surrounding world, serve to process a large amount of information coming from the
world. On the other hand, however, stereotypes used to be thought of as unfair and
incorrect portrayals of social or religious groups.

Applying negative stereotypes may be the result of ignorance because it is
easier to adopt a point of view shared by the majority without spending much time
thinking about it. Moreover, negative stereotypes are often culturally conditioned,
they emerge in various contexts and serve different purposes imposed by those
contexts.

The picture would be not complete without considering any benefits which
religious diversity may bring to society. They were examined in the next question ant
the results are discussed below.

to the thirteenth question: What benefits does religious diversity bring to society?
Frequency

Question XIII
percent
Promotes tolerance
and understanding 4 9 5 18 32.14%
Reduces
4 5 2 11 19.64%
discrimination
Economic 0 0 1 1 1.79%
sustainability


Enriches community
0 3 1 4 7.14%
spirit
Improves cultural
1 7 5 13 23.21%
experiences
A sense of
0 0 2 2 3.57%
commonality
Improves facilities for
0 2 1 3 5.36%
minority groups

All of the above 0 2 2 4 7.14%

Total 9 28 19 56 100%

Analysis of the answers to the question thirteen shows which benefits were the
most important for students. Among other answers, promoting tolerance and
understanding seems to be the factor of great importance to them. Almost one third
of the whole surveyed population believed that religious diversity has such a positive
impact on society. This together with improving cultural experience gives half of the
gathered data. Teenagers pointed also out that religious diversity reduces
discrimination. This is interesting because, according to the results of the
questionnaire, religious diversity may lead to discrimination and it may help to deal
with it at the same time.

to the fourteenth question: Do you think there should be freedom of movement of
citizens within Europe regardless of religious tradition?
Frequency

Question XIV
percent

Yes 5 13 6 24 80%
Don’t Know 2 0 1 3 10%
No 0 0 3 3 10%
Total 7 13 10 30 100%


Immigration was another factor perceived as quite significant with regard to
religious diversity. Students’ attitudes toward the problem of freedom of movement of
citizens are analysed considering the results of the next question.

Figure 5.3. Do you think there should be freedom of movement of citizens within
Europe regardless of religious tradition?

Don’t Know Yes
No
10% Don’t Know
10%
No

Yes
80%

The results and the figure show that although immigration is thought of as one
of more important factors, teenagers were not against the freedom of movement of
citizens regardless of religious tradition. The majority of them expressed the belief
that there should be such freedom allowed within Europe. A relatively small
percentage of respondents, namely 6%, did not approve of the idea.

The results are in accordance with the results to the question number eleven.
Generally, students would not mind having neighbours who were of a different
religious tradition to them. Nowadays, when there are no boundaries between some
countries, it would be difficult to stop or to ban such movement. Education here is the
key to promoting understanding and increasing the knowledge about different
religions. The role of school education in this respect is unquestionable.


to the fifteenth question: Do you think that European schools contribute to religious
division?

Frequency
Question XV
percent

Yes 1 5 3 9 30%
Don’t Know 6 4 2 12 40%
No 0 4 5 9 30%

Total 7 13 10 30 100%

However, as is shown by the results, students are not so sure about the role of
schools and their contribution to religious division. The distribution of results is almost
equal for each answer provided. Within the chart there are more visible differences
between age categories, but they do not influence much the overall result. It seems
that they are not familiar enough with the relevant data or do not possess enough
knowledge on the matter. All in all, it gives no clear answer and it may be a starting
point to another questionnaire exploring the topic in detail.

6. Conclusion

The objective of the survey was to find out how Polish learners of a lower-
secondary school perceive religious diversity in the school context as well as in a
much broader European dimension and what factors they may take into
consideration concerning the issue. The analysis is based on the results of the
questionnaire Religious Diversity in Europe conducted among lower-secondary
students learning English as a foreign language. The questionnaire was created as a
joint work of schools cooperating within the Comenius School Partnership,
‘Communication Connects Cultures through Comenius’.


In the light of the figures presented and discussed, characteristics of the
students’ group under consideration emerge. It is revealed that girls are more eager
to take part in such surveys than boys. In general, teenagers acquire their knowledge
about different religions mainly from parents, then from the Internet and other
sources. School is important in the process but the most important is the home they
have been brought up in. that is the main source of their information and, in most
cases, beliefs.

The selected group of students do not pay much attention to the religious
contents in their course books. They show rather neutral attitude to such contents as
well as toward other people’s beliefs related to religion. It does not mean that they do
not care but rather they would not judge a person by the beliefs or the religion
professed.

Although the society in Poland is quite homogenous as far as different
religions are concerned, students show an open-minded approach to the question of
religious diversity. Their definitions of the issue compared with the given definitions of
Europe reflect understanding, tolerance and even empathy toward other beliefs,
cultures, nations. Europe is perceived as a multicultural place where everybody can
find a place to live in no matter what his religion or beliefs are.

In the context of religious diversity, tolerance is quite important to them as well
as the ability to see the threats of discrimination which lie on the other end. They
express the opinion that such diversity may contribute to the better understanding of
different cultures and promote the culture of tolerance.

On the other hand, they do not know much about the school curriculum or the
problems majority groups or the minorities have been facing, though they are aware
of the negative impact of stereotypes and ignorance. Along with prejudice they may
lead to conflicts related to religious diversity.

All in all, the surveyed teenagers are still undergoing the process of change
and are still broadening their knowledge. They are on a quest of searching out their


own way, the source of truth, values, beliefs. The fact that they look at the issue of
religious diversity from such a broad-minded and positive perspective is encouraging.


Religious diversity Poland

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