Religion (Catholic) as an ethnic factor – on the example of the activities of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association

Abstract

In the case of ethnicity/nationality, religion (as well as language, origin, inhabited territory or historical memory) is an important component of identity. Religion, particularly as a cultural component, seems to have designated [and historically pointed] to kashubian identity. In this article, I would like to present the activities of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association, an ethnic NGO that has been pretending to represent the Kashubian community since 1956. Kashubians are an ethnic minority, speaking the regional language – Kashubian living in northern Poland. They are predominantly Catholic. The Kashubian-Pomeranian Association, creating and maintaining the Kashubian identity, very often uses the religious [Catholic] setting to give prestige to its actions.