Klerykal fiction
Formative works contributing to the emergence of the genre include Jacek Dukaj's short story The Golden Galley [pl] (1990) and Rafał Ziemkiewicz's Jawnogrzesznica (The Public Sinner, 1991).
[1][3][11] In 1992, Wojtek Sedeńko [pl], in the introduction to the religious fantasy and science fiction anthology Czarna msza (Black Mass), wrote that "the fear of clericalization of the state is quite common (certainly influenced by the church's recent spectacular successes, such as the return of religion to schools, the recovery of vast property in real estate, becoming an opinion-forming factor in many areas of life)".
[12] After the post-communist factions briefly returned to power in Poland in the mid-1990s (the Democratic Left Alliance's victory in the 1993 elections), there was a certain restoration of trust in the church and a simultaneous decline in the popularity of literature critical of it, including klerykal fiction.
[1][3][11] Formative or fundamental works contributing to the emergence of the genre include Jacek Dukaj's short story The Golden Galley [pl] (1990)[3][13] and Rafał Ziemkiewicz's Jawnogrzesznica (The Public Sinner, 1991).
[10] In 2022, Stanisław Krawczyk described the genre as "a critique of formalized, ossified religiosity, especially institutions similar to or directly identified with the Roman Catholic Church".
[7][17][20] In contrast, Mazurkiewicz sees such works (analyzing Polish religiosity in the context of fantasy and science fiction, where "the ideological stance of their authors is not polemically charged") on the fringes of this trend.
[15] Similarly, Ewa Kozak cites Marcin Zwierzchowski's definition of the subgenre as "stories referring to matters of faith or the church".
Ziemkiewicz describes a "permissivist post-church that [...] has lost faith in its Founder, agreed to the relativity of Christ's Truth, and ceased to proclaim the Good News and is no longer needed by anyone".
[10] Among the pioneering works in the genre of Polish science fiction which addresses metaphysical and religious themes one can include, for instance, the novel His Master's Voice by Stanisław Lem from 1968, the short story Relacja z pierwszej ręki (First-Hand Report, 1982) by Janusz Zajdel, the short story Karlgoro, godzina 18.00 (Karlgoro, 6 PM, 1983) by Marek Baraniecki, the novel Adam, jeden z nas (Adam, One of Us, 1986) by Konrad Fiałkowski, and the short story Jeruzalem (Jerusalem, 1988) by Janusz Cyran [pl].
