IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE

Aim. This paper aims to diagnose the revival of universally accessible sport in Poland and the place sport holds in the lifestyles of Polish society. In particular, the paper seeks to identify the causes of the revival, that is, show where the causes should be searched for and name the factors and determinants that have played the dominant role in changes studied in this paper.
Methods. In order to reach the goal formulated above, the author has used the most popular theories of lifestyle and the findings of research conducted by Andrzej Sicinski, a Polish sociologist whose dissertations on lifestyle are widely esteemed by the research community. Additionally, this paper employs the extremely important sociological theories of structural functionalism and symbolic interactionism.
Results. Analyses performed in the rational order and employing a wide range of empirical data reveal two groups of factors that have played a fundamental role in the revival of universally accessible sport among the Polish public as well as in the related changes in Polish people’s lifestyles. One group are factors resulting from the changing social structure (education, affluence, employment structure, etc.), while factors in the other group stem from cultural changes (dominant ideals, behavioural patterns, social control, cultural pressure, etc.).
Discussion and Conclusion. The above changes in the cultural sphere have had more and less indirect influence on the public’s attitudes towards sporting activities. This is to say that culture is a socialization factor that prompts individuals and communities to internalize sporting lifestyles. The acceptance of such lifestyles meets with positive sanctions and symbolic rewards, whereas individuals and communities that reject such lifestyles expose themselves to negative sanctions and symbolic retributions which are often just as unbearable as financial penalties.