Between the ‘Religious’ and the ‘Secular’ Attitude. The Conflict Over the Relocation of the Catholic Chapel in the Regional Hospital in Przeworsk

Abstract

This article analyses the conflict over changing the location of the Catholic chapel in the Regional Hospital in Przeworsk. I conducted in-depth anthropological interviews with people declaring a variety of views on the relocation of the chapel, analysed official documents and materials published in the local press, and reflected on my own observations and experiences in order to define the reasons for the conflict. What measures were taken to prevent the relocation of the chapel and why were these steps chosen? What was the logic behind the specific narratives created by those involved in the dispute and what do they tell us about how these respondents perceive the function of the place of cult within the space of the hospital? To answer these questions I drew upon publications from the field of social anthropology and sociology of religion pertaining to the issues of secularisation, secularity and secularism. Transcending the “traditional” views on secularity and religiosity as separate, nonreducible spheres or “binary opposites”, the choice of literature permits a more careful consideration of the motivation of the actors, their diverse attitude towards the local and Church authorities, and their perception of hospital space and the chapel itself, without disregarding the context of the local politics and history.