From sociographic research to sociological analyses. The theoretical and methodological orientations of the scientific research conducted by the Institute of Religious Studies and the Institute for Catholic Church Statistics SAC under the supervision of W

Abstract

The study focuses on the main research trends (including their theoretical and methodological background) in the scientific and research activities of the Department of Sociology of Religion SAC and the Institute of Statistics of the Catholic Church SAC in over 40 years of managing these institutions by their founder, Professor Witold Zdaniewicz. His scientific and research activity extends over the entire second half of the 20th century and over twenty years of the 21st century. In this long period, the political and social context in Poland and in the world was changing, and dynamic cultural, civilizational and institutional changes were taking place. All this influenced the situation of Catholicism in Poland, which - both in the institutional, community as well as axiological dimensions - was the subject of numerous research projects under the auspices of Zdaniewicz. In their implementation, reference was made to the sociological (theoretical and methodological) background, current research trends in the world sociology of religion, methods of data collection and analysis, the technological support of the research workshop was provided. In the article, I refer mainly to the sociological perspective and the main theoretical and methodological trends that can be distinguished in research projects carried out by scientific teams managed by Zdaniewicz. This approach is not comprehensive, it is just an introduction to the further analysis of the rich scientific and research heritage left by the Professor.