Are Roadside Crosses in Poland a Religious or Cultural Expression

Bibliographic Data

ID3358693
AuthorsLucyna Przybylska (0000-0001-9003-9467, University of Gdańsk, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume12
Issue1
Pages8
Publication date2020-12-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12010008
OpenAlexW3117652273
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

The paper contributes to the discourse on roadside memorialisation in the countries of Christian heritage in Europe, Australia, and North America. The aim of the paper is to assess the social perception of the motivation of people constructing roadside crosses at the places of fatal car accidents along public roads in Poland. Is it religious, cultural or both religious and cultural? The uniqueness of this survey lies in its representativeness of the population of one country and the religiosity variable incorporated into a public opinion poll. The study proves that there exists a relationship between one's declaration of faith and the perception of memorial crosses. Believers more often than atheists opt for both a religious and a cultural meaning of roadside crosses. Atheists and agnostics more often than believers associate roadside crosses only with a cultural meaning-the custom of marking places of death with crosses

Declaration · Faith · Geography · Perception · Political science · Politics · Population · Public opinion · Religiosity · Representativeness heuristic · Sociology · Theology · Demography · Law · Literature, Language, and Rhetoric Studies · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious Tourism and Spaces · Social Psychology