Between confessionality and openness. Religious education in polish complementary schools in Great Britain

Abstract

ABSTRACT The beginnings of Polish emigration to the British Isles date back to the 16th century, but a particularly large Polish diaspora was established after World War II when many soldiers stayed in Great Britain because they could not return to communist Poland for fear of persecution. The largest wave of emigration, however, occurred after Poland accessed the European Union in 2004. Since then, around a million Poles have settled in the United Kingdom. In order to educate their children, over a hundred years ago, Polish emigrants established schools where Polish language, history, geography and religion were taught. Along with the increase in the number of Poles in United Kingdom, more and more schools were established. Currently, there are about 140. The objective of the present article is to analyse Religious Education in Polish complementary schools in Great Britain. We will discuss the organisation and concept of this particular reality on the basis of published sources and the conducted empirical research. The context for these considerations is the establishment and broad activity of Polish complementary schools.