Rocznik Komparatystyczny

The article presents an analysis of three anthologies – two Polish and one Swedish – of religious poetry edited within the last 15 years. The collections of poems under consideration represent a wide understanding of the term “religious poetry”, far from fidelity to any concrete denomination or tradition. A closer look at the editors’ choices makes it possible, however, to point to some symptomatic differences between the books edited in Poland and in Sweden. The author of the article situates the sources of these dissimilarities in the following: the differences in Swedish and Polish literary traditions, comparing the Swedish Psalmboken with the Polish religious-patriotic poetry of romantic origins; the difference in the understanding of religion and its role in the society of the two cultures, where the strongly secularized Swedish culture contrasts with the Polish culture redefining the role of religion after 1989; and finally the diverse critical languages used for describing religious literature and art in Poland and in Sweden. By juxtaposing the strategies of the editors of the collections, the author is able to draw certain conclusions regarding the importance and rank of religious poetry in the literary culture of contemporary Poland and Sweden. These conclusions are found to be inconsistent with stereotypical opinions on attitudes towards religion in contemporary Swedish and Polish culture.