Symbolic presence without identification: Institutionalized cultural memory and youth reception of a religious figure in Poland
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This article examines how institutionalized cultural memory functions among young people in a context where symbolic saturation coexists with declining identification. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of Polish youth (n = 1029), we develop an empirical model to analyse how education, media use, and other institutional channels mediate the reception of a highly visible cultural figure who no longer belongs to the generation’s lived experience. Using the concept of postmemory as an analytical framework, the study operationalizes mediated memory transmission and tests whether institutional exposure translates into personal relevance or symbolic distance. The findings reveal a pronounced dissociation between symbolic presence and identity engagement. School education, religious instruction, and media exposure are associated not with stronger identification but with increased detachment, particularly in contexts shaped by critical media narratives and individualized media consumption. We argue that this pattern reflects a broader transformation of cultural memory in post-confessional societies: memory persists as a visible cultural resource while losing its performative and identificatory function. By empirically modelling the erosion of symbolic authority, the article contributes to sociological research on cultural transmission, media consumption, and the institutional production of meaning.
Source: Poetics
Authors: Stanisław Fel, Jarosław Kozak
Institution: John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,390
OpenAlex ID: W7220949127