ПОНЯТИЕ ЧУДО И ЕГО ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИЯ (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ АНКЕТ СТУДЕНТОВ ПОЛЬСКО-БЕЛОРУССКОГО ПОГРАНИЧЬЯ)
THE CONCEPT OF A MIRACLE AND ITS INTERPRETATION (ON THE BASIS OF POLISH-BELARUSIAN BORDERLAND STUDENTS’ SURVEYS)

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the results of a survey conducted to identify the main features of the concept of ‘miracle’ and to explore its interpretation in the consciousness of young people belonging to different national and cultural groups. The survey was conducted among students of Borderland Universities – the University of Bialystok (UwB) and the Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno. The aim of the research was to determine, by means of a questionnaire, the common and separate elements in the understanding of the term ‘miracle’ by Polish and Belarusian students. Research methods: descriptive, dictionary definition analysis, interpretative, component analysis, quantitative calculations. As the study showed, the meanings of ‘miracle’ are much broader than the explanatory dictionaries indicate. The connection between miracle and God in most terms was observed among UwB students, which probably results from greater religiosity and the preservation of religious traditions in Poland. The secularization of society, which covered the territory of Belarus in the previous period, influenced the views of contemporary students in this field and was a decisive factor in the perception of the phenomenon in question.

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