Polish Left seeks to end state funding of clergy’s social contributions as government reform stalls

Poland's Church Fund is a state-financed scheme supporting legally recognised religious denominations. It pays for several purposes: clergy health and social-security contributions, charitable work by religious organisations, and renovation of religious buildings. Its original purpose was compensation after communist authorities seized religious property.

Today, the fund supports all legally recognised denominations, including groups whose property was not seized. Most spending goes toward clergy contributions rather than charities or repairs. The state covered 80% of many clergy members' social-security contributions through the fund.

The fund matters because it links public money with religious institutions. The Left wants to abolish it, arguing that clergy should be treated like other workers and that Poland should move toward a secular state. Other coalition partners prefer reform or taxpayer-directed religious giving instead.

The Polish state spent 275.7 million zloty on the Church Fund last year. This year's budget sets aside 272.6 million zloty. These figures show that the fund represents a substantial and continuing public expense, even though it is only one part of wider state spending connected to religious bodies.

Most of the fund's money pays 80% of clergy members' social-security contributions. The fund also supports charitable activities run by religious organisations and renovations of religious buildings. It covers contributions for all legally recognised denominations, not only the Catholic Church.

The spending is politically important because parties disagree over whether the state should continue paying it. The Left proposes ending the fund and changing how contributions are shared. The Polish People's Party wants to retain it as compensation and create taxpayer-directed religious giving instead.

The Left's bill would replace the current arrangement, in which the state covers 80% of most clergy members' social-security contributions. Under the proposal, churches would pay half and individual clergy members would pay the other half. The change is presented as equal treatment under the law.

Anna Maria Żukowska compared the proposal with ordinary employment. Regular workers' social-security contributions are funded jointly by employees and employers. The bill would apply a similar employee-and-employer-style split to priests and other clergy members, with churches taking the employer-like role.

There would be exceptions. Enclosed religious orders and missionaries would have their contributions paid fully by their churches. The bill also proposes that historic church maintenance be financed through the National Fund for the Protection of Monuments, rather than the Church Fund.

The Church Fund began in 1950, after Poland's communist authorities seized property belonging to religious communities. It was intended to compensate those communities for that loss. This historical explanation remains central to the fund's supporters, including the Polish People's Party, which calls it an inexpensive form of compensation.

Its practical role has expanded. The fund now supports all legally recognised religious denominations in Poland. It pays part of clergy members' social-security contributions, helps religious organisations with charitable activities, and contributes to the renovation of religious buildings.

That expansion creates a key dispute. The fund no longer supports only communities that lost property. It also assists denominations that did not suffer such seizures. The Left therefore wants to abolish it and replace its contribution system, while other parties seek reform or a different way to finance religious institutions.

Several governing parties promised change before the 2023 election. Civic Coalition and The Left backed abolition, while Poland 2050 proposed replacing state funding with voluntary taxpayer contributions. After taking power, Donald Tusk announced reform plans and appointed a working group led by PSL leader Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

The group has since stalled because coalition partners want different outcomes. The Left now wants abolition and a new contribution split. PSL wants to preserve the fund as compensation and rejects The Left's bill. Civic Coalition supports reform but criticised the bill's submission without coalition consultation. Church figures also say they were not consulted.

The disagreement threatens the coalition's promise to work toward a secular state. Kosiniak-Kamysz says the bill has no chance of parliamentary support. PSL has 32 of the coalition's 239 MPs, giving its opposition practical importance.

The Polish People's Party supports retaining the Church Fund rather than abolishing it. Its leader, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, describes the existing system as an inexpensive form of compensation. However, PSL also supports an alternative model that would give taxpayers more direct control over religious funding.

Under that proposal, taxpayers could allocate part of their taxes to a religious institution of their choice. The money would therefore follow individual decisions rather than being distributed solely through a general state fund. Kosiniak-Kamysz says this would let Polish people decide whether they want to contribute.

The system is used in several European countries, according to the article. It would not be the same as ending all public involvement, since taxpayers would still direct part of their tax payments. It is instead a competing reform model, and PSL says it will oppose The Left's abolition bill.

When public institutions fund religious communities, taxpayers' money supports religious activity through government decisions. That creates an ongoing relationship between the state and religious bodies. It can also raise questions about equal treatment, oversight, and whether public funds should support religion directly.

Poland's coalition agreement includes a commitment to work toward principles of a secular state. The Left connects that commitment with ending the Church Fund. Its proposal would treat priests and other clergy like workers whose contributions are shared with their institutional employers, rather than having 80% paid through the state.

A secular state in this debate does not mean opposing religion. Włodzimierz Czarzasty said The Left does not oppose religion, but wants clergy treated equally under the law. The competing proposals show that secularism can involve changing funding rules, not necessarily ending all support for religious institutions.

If the Church Fund were abolished, the state would stop covering 80% of most clergy members' social-security contributions through it. Churches would pay half and clergy the other half. Enclosed orders and missionaries would remain an exception, with their churches paying their contributions in full.

Religious denominations would also lose the fund's support for charitable activities and building renovations. The bill would move historic church maintenance to the National Fund for the Protection of Monuments. Public finances would no longer carry the fund's current annual cost, budgeted at 272.6 million zloty this year, though some support could continue through other arrangements.

The change would affect the governing coalition most immediately. PSL says it will oppose abolition, while Civic Coalition supports reform but criticised the process. The dispute could delay the coalition's secular-state pledge, and the bill currently lacks PSL's support.