In the 2023/2024 school year, 78.6% of students attended optional religious education classes in public schools, which marks a decrease of 9.0% compared to the 87.6% recorded in the 2019/2020 school year.
There is a significant geographical variation in this regard – the highest percentage of students attending religious classes was recorded in the southern part of Poland, in the Przemyśl Diocese (96%), Tarnów Diocese (95.9%), and Rzeszów Diocese (94.1%), while the lowest was found in the capital, in the Warsaw Diocese (58.3%) and the Warsaw-Praga Diocese (61.6%), as well as in Wrocław (63.5%) in the southwest.
At the same time, there is a noticeable decline in the number of people receiving sacraments, including baptism and First Holy Communion.
The number of priests and nuns is also decreasing, and the number of sacraments administered in Poland is falling. However, despite this, the number of people receiving Holy Communion is on the rise.
Dominicantes in Poland refers to those attending Sunday Masses in Roman Catholic churches. According to ISKK statistics, the highest number of practicing Catholics is in the southern and eastern parts of the country, while in the opposite regions, their numbers are even three times lower.
Source: IAR/ISKK
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