The Catholicism is the predominant religion in Poland. The Roman Catholic Church in Poland has been for years the most influent civic organization, both under the communism and after 1989. It the nineties the Polish church was at least partially skeptical about the integration with the EU, which was perceived as contrary to Christian values, because of moral relativism. This position was echoed especially by the powerful “Radio Maryja” and its political affiliates. These fears were overcome through a common engagement of successive governments, Polish intellectuals, main stream media and a part of the church. It was in particular the very highly respected in Poland John Paul II who unambiguously supported the enlargement of the European Union. In 2003 most of Poles voted for the membership in the EU. Nevertheless the Europeanization of Polish political life and society may lead to the rejection of the moral standards praised by the Catholic Church and to the weakening of its position in Poland. Under the rule of the Civic Platform party (PO) Poland wants to join the European mainstream, including such touchy issues as the presence of religious symbols in public life, while the majority of the population become irritated by the ostensive intrusion of the Church into the political life. Therefore it is to be concluded, that despite Church support for the membership in the EU, the Europeanization and the modernization of Poland may lead, like in Spain, to its laicization, which seems a general process all around Europe.
