Doświadczeniowo-przeżyciowy aspekt religijności. Na podstawie badań socjologicznych w rejonie wiejskim

The sociological research made in rural region which is considerably under the industrial and urban influence shows that in the sphere of personal and subjective experience the Catholic religion has a comparatively great „relevant” character. The need for religion in its psychological-existential functions as well as the need for experiencing God are relatively widespread among rural people. The present paper constitutes an attempt to give a characteristics of the concept of religious experience in a sociological formulation. The research was made among rural people living in the region of Płock. The author made a scale of intensity of religious experience, and defined the basic socio-demographic determinants of this experience. A comparison of the results with the results received by other scholars is made. The aspects of religious experience of rural people under analysis correspond to still strong forms of institutionalized religiousness, to the traditional attachment to „the fathers’ faith” and to the . strong ties with the parish. It can be presumed that the high intensity of religious experience among rural people is based not so much on personal experience and conscious choice as on the traditional Catholicism which is still alive in rural regions. This bond of religious experience with local culture, and tradition constitutes its strength but at the same time it points out to its weakness and limitations as well.