Paper short abstract:

Stereotypes and official rhetoric in Poland shape civic attitudes toward the Roma, perpetuating racialization. Class exclusion compounds divisions, while a shift from Catholicism to Protestantism eases tensions. Other differences persist, but cultural distinctions lose significance.

Paper long abstract:

Based on two years of research among the Roma community (1) in a large city (Wroclaw), (2) among a community of Roma activists and activists, and (3) in a small town (Bystrzyca Klodzka), I present the processes of racialization and alienation of Roma in a super-homogenous Polish society considered to be predominantly Catholic. The stereotypes and official rhetoric generated by years of coexistence on Polish territory drive civic attitudes and actions towards the Roma community. These actions take various forms, but often contribute to the reproduction of stereotypes and further racialization. Part of the Roma community additionally struggles with class exclusion and material hardship, this produces additional spaces for deepening divisions. At the same time, in the course of the study, I observed a process in which the change of religion from Catholicism to the Protestant faction contributed to a change in behavioral patterns in the Roma community and the perception of them by the majority society. It seems to have been a much stronger factor than the action of the state and European Union bodies. Rather than exacerbating differences, the change of religion contributed to a reduction in the antagonism of the local community. Thus, it violates the image of Catholicism as the glue of the Polish nation-state community. The processes of producing another still have an impact in this community mainly emphasizing as phenotypic and linguistic differences, but the role of cultural differences on which racist and alienating actions were previously based has lost its importance.