Fear, the Taming of the World, and Religion: An Analysis of the Functions of Religiosity in the Context of Contemporary Threats, with a Case Study of Pomerania

Abstract

The article explores the relationship between anxiety and religiosity in the context of contemporary social crises – the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the growing sense of economic insecurity. The aim of the analysis is to examine how religion functions as both an interpretative and emotional resource within the risk society, and whether its significance varies across regions and generations. The study draws on original empirical research conducted in Western and Gdańsk Pomerania, complemented by references to other sociological studies on fear and religiosity. The findings indicate that religiosity affects the level of anxiety mainly indirectly – through the interpretation of religion as a source of meaning, peace and moral guidance. More religious individuals tend to experience lower levels of existential anxiety, while social anxieties appear to be less dependent on religiosity. In light of the collected data, religion no longer performs the role of an exclusive order of meaning; rather, it becomes one of several symbolic tools for coping with uncertainty. In a society marked by chronic feelings of threat, religion assumes a selective character – helping individuals to maintain emotional balance in the face of personal risks, yet losing its capacity to interpret global crises.