Wspólnoty wyznaniowe w powiecie wieluńskim w II Rzeczypospolitej

Abstract

In the legislation of the Second Polish Republic, the Catholic Church occupied a privileged place among other legally recognized religious associations, including the Karaim Religious Association, the Evangelical-Augsburg Church, the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Muslim Religious Union, the Eastern Old-Rite Church and the Jewish Religious Union. The remaining religious associations belonged to groups that were not legally recognized, although legislative work was still underway to recognize some of them. After the end of World War I, inhabitants of the Wieluń district professed different religions. Catholics constituted the largest group of the society. Among the non-Catholic religions, the first place was occupied by the Jews and then by Evangelicals. A small percentage of the population adhered to the Orthodox religion. Individual families or persons belonged to the National Orthodox Church or the Church of the Mariavites as well as to the Association of Bible Students and the Baptist Association. The main Evangelical centre was located in the town of Wieluń, in which there was also an Orthodox community. The Jews in the Wieluń district were concentrated in seven Jewish religious communities located in Bolesławiec, Działoszyn, Lututów, Osjaków, Praszka, Wieluń and Wieruszów. There were also cases of religious change and some inhabitants of the district did not identify with any religious community.