[acqq]

I believe that can't explain the difference in the religious feelings in Poland and Czechia, both being in the same block during the same time after the WW II? I'd say Albania is not comparable, having completely different historical and cultural background and also the political separation from the block during the same years under much more extreme regime.

[keiferski]

It's an immensely complex situation and I can't explain it all in a HN comment, but the importance of the Catholic Church in contemporary Polish culture goes back to at least 1772, when the Partitions began. Czechs didn't have this same experience and were more "integrated" into Germanic and Habsburg Europe, Czechia wasn't completely razed during WW2, and the Soviets were, shall we say, less harsh on them than on the Poles.

In short, communism simultaneously increased Czech tradition religious apatheticism and Polish Catholicism.

[acqq]

> the importance of the Catholic Church in contemporary Polish culture goes back to at least 1772, when the Partitions began.

And the serious distancing from the same church by Czechs goes back even to centuries before that, as I've quoted before. Also note how Joseph II helped there only 9 years after that 1772 you mention.

[acqq]

Also, Albania seems to be much more religious, even 9 years ago, when the effect of the previous regime could have been a bit more strong than today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albania#Religion