Poland: Treatment of Hare Krishna followers by local churches or state officials

No reports on the treatment of members of the Hare Krishna Movement in Poland could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

However, according to a 1995 research report entitled Religious Pluralism in Poland published in the 22 February 1997 issue of ASAP by Leonard Volenski, a fellow at the Center for the Study of American Religion at Princeton University, the Hare Krishna Movement, established in Poland at the end of the 1970s, is considered in Poland to be a "new religious movement", a generic term used to describe non-Catholic religious groups. The research also stresses that in a society where "to be a Pole means to be a Roman Catholic", other religions are characterized as "outsiders" and, as a result, non-Catholics feel excluded from society. According to the research,

the situation facing religious minorities helps to strengthen positive virtues among their members. Their feelings of helplessness come from the fact that they are more likely to be objects of various regulations concerning social life, rather than subjects in control of their own legal situation. They perceive their own participation in the discussion of religious matters in Poland as welcome only if they voice their support for the opinions of Roman Catholicism. In various situations they see themselves as passive receivers of the decisions made by the powerful alliance between government and the Roman Catholic Church. The representatives of both the Lutheran and Orthodox confessions feel discriminated against, not only in a social sense, but also with respect to their professional careers. Their feelings of estrangement stem from the fear of potentially being assimilated as a group into the Catholic majority.

In mixed marriages, for example, couples would be required to marry in a Catholic church and to promise that all children would be baptized and raised as Roman Catholics. In the long run, they are fearful that this policy would result in diminishing numbers of young Lutherans or Orthodox. In addition, the children of religious minorities feel that they would risk personal injury if they disclose their religious denomination to schoolmates in primary school. Although still difficult, the situation seems to be less drastic in the secondary school (ages 15 to 19). The reason for this hidden intolerance seems to be that the majority of people in Poland equate the notion of being Catholic with being an honest and valuable member of society. Research conducted by social psychologists in the 1970's, which studied the characteristics of socially welcomed persons among Poles, found that overtly displayed Catholicism determined to a great extent the sympathy and lack of social distance others feel toward persons who are new to the community.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

ASAP. 22 February 1997. Leonard Volenski. "Religious Pluralism in Poland." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Electronic Sources: IRB databases, WNC, REFWORLD, Internet.