The possible applications of Thomas Luckmann’s concept of invisible religion in sociological research on religion and religiousness of Polish society: A critical perspective

Abstract

In 1967, Thomas Luckmann published ‘Invisible Religion’ – a book in which he entered a polemic with the existing tradition of research on religion and religiosity and indicated that religion should be treated by social sciences as a permanent process. The author of the article recalls the theses of a German sociologist to show which aspects of Polish research in the sociology of religion may be considered incomplete – e.g., lack of theoretical consistency, as well as ease of inference. He then looks again at the concept of invisible religion, describing eight of its most important aspects. Finally, theoretical considerations of Thomas Luckmann’s thesis allow us to look at it from a universal perspective and show in which areas of research into Polish society the concept of invisible religion can still be used.