Abstract

Background: The text engages with the ongoing discussion about the relationship between religious communities and mobility. Purpose: The paper embraces with the increasing attention paid to the transnational dynamics of religiosity in migrants’ individual experiences, expectations and modes of involvement. We concentrate on the following research problem: how does the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, and through the networks of the faithful, facilitate, challenge and intersect with the adaptation of migrants to their new environments? Methods: The study draws on empirical data and a survey conducted with a sample (n=620) of migrants - Polish Catholics in Great Britain in 2019. We analyse selected issues encountered in the migrants’ parishes ‒ their non-religious activities, the expectations of other parishioners, and the migrants’ continuing links with their places of origin. Results: A cluster analysis of the data revealed five profiles of those participating in parish life and led us to suggest existing two types of parochialism: an old parochialism and a new one. The results of the study concern the declared expectations of respondents concerning the confessional and non-confessional (charity, leisure, tourist, or cultural) activities of their parishes. The old parochialism type represents a traditional view of the parish as a religious community while the second emphasizes socio-cultural background and a cooperative style of work based on associations and goal achievement. It reflects contemporary trends where the next generation of migrants is changing its relationship with the parish community, making it more organic and negotiable. Conclusions and Implications: Our findings reveal the socio-cultural specificity of migrants shaped by membership of migrant parishes outside Poland and how this specificity can be compared with mainstream Catholic parishes in Great Britain. The results can also be used as a reference point for contemporary discussions concerning the declining influence of religion on social life and the evolution of people’s expectations concerning parish communities. Keywords: migrants’ parochialism, Catholic parish, religious and non-religious parish activities, cluster analysis, sociology of migration