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Marcin Gacek’s reflection on sociological commentary in this article has been inspired by the scientific achievements and sociological reflections of French sociologist Raymond Aron. In his work, Aron combines the reliability and sensitivity of description, directly related to his sociological research, with erudite style and a phenomenal sense of the social pulse characteristic of an outstanding observer who is scientifically engaged in commenting on present-day issues. The basic question that Gacek poses is, Is it possible to practice sociology while writing commentary?

Mikołaj Jerzy Woźniak’s aim in this article is to characterize the contemporary historical novel. Woźniak examines critically Paweł Ćwikła’s assumptions regarding the essential features of fictional historical literature. As a case study, Woźniak analyzes the work of Ewa Kassala, an internationally acclaimed author of Polish descent. Using Nathalie Heinich’s narrative method in his research, Woźniak identifies the main themes in Kassala’s work, which allows him to confirm the outset assumptions. Kassala puts emphasis on timeless fictional events, while paying ample attention to historical realism. An additional element, following the example of Henryk Sienkiewicz, is the idea that historical fiction should “fortify the hearts of the readers” and raise their morale.

Krzysztof Sztalt’s aim in this article is to highlight the cognitive values of literature in the field of morality and axiology. He begins by listing the functions of literature and emphasizing the cognitive function. He goes on to indicate the differences between literary and scientific cognition. He then considers the possibility of focusing, during the process of the cognition of literary works, on moral and axiological problems. Addressing these problems he cites a specific literary examples. He argues that pre-sociological literary cognition can be no less valuable and important than sociological cognition. In his opinion, both forms of cognition complement each other.

This article presents a sociological analysis of the literary dystopias of Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood: the MaddAddam trilogy and The Handmaid’s Tale and its 2020 sequel Testaments. Maria Anna Banaś regards as key issues and contexts those that clearly and unambiguously build Atwood’s image of the social world, and which Banaś reads through the prism of the sociology of literature. The basic question is, What is the structure of the social world in Atwood’s works? Banaś seeks answers by referring, among other ideas, to Robert K. Merton’s types of adaptation of individuals to the changing social structure.

In her article, Monika Gnieciak analyses the impact of the publication of the Twilight saga on the functioning of contemporary literary life. The controversial popularity of the saga, both among its fans and anti-fans, combined with the development of social networking sites at the time of its publication, resulted in a cultural change which caused the mechanisms of literary communication to undergo a permanent transformation. At the same time, the mass readership of Stephenie Meyer’s fiction brought about a change in the status of the young adult genre, which from a marginal literary product has developed into one of the most vibrant segments of the current publishing market.

In her article, Anna Barska presents various strategies used by social actors to manifest their desire to speak, to break taboos and to make sense of their presence in the city. The places represented, the time, the themes and the creator(s) are a form of message and communication. The examples Barska discusses, i.e., Algiers, Oran, Tunis and Djerba, are helpful in understanding the complexity of the socio-cultural and political life in the Maghreb.

In the sociological study presented in this article, Ondrej Štefaňak deals with the issues of changes in religiosity among Slovak youth. Štefaňak zooms in on three basic dimensions of religiosity, namely, religious faith, beliefs and practices; the period covered by this research concretely is the decade 2006 to 2016. Štefaňak’s discussion is based on theoretical reflection related to the main paradigms and models of religious changes among young people in the postmodern world. Štefaňak refers mainly to empirical data from last four population censuses in Slovakia and to two instances of sociological research of religiosity among the young generation from the Spiš diocese in northern Slovakia (Spiš, Liptov and Orava regions). This empirical data not only supports the model of advancing secularization and the reinforcement of the phenomenon of “belonging without believing”. In fact this research also partially confirms the model of stabilization or even revitalization of religiosity among the young generation of Slovaks.

In this article, Wojciech Marek Patoń is concerned with prayer understood as a key religious practice among Catholics, an individual and communal religious practice. In the analysis of this phenomenon, Patoń adopts the perspective of the sociology of religion. He presents the sociological understanding of prayer along with selected typologies used in the context of broader trends present in contemporary religious practices. Patoń’s empirical analysis is based on twenty-four in-depth interviews with Catholics in Upper Silesia and three expert interviews. He has examined the importance of prayer practices, with particular emphasis on preferences as to their individual or group dimension. The research shows that today the individualization of religious practices is beginning to dominate; however, in the opinion of the respondents from Upper Silesia, the communal character of prayer remains important.

In this article, Klaudia Słowik presents her recommendations for supporting the process of empowerment. The primary goal of the empowerment process is to prepare school graduates for independent life. According to the legislature on this subject, graduates should become active subjects in this process. Słowik’s article is a voice in the ongoing discussion on the trajectory of the process of gaining independence. In particular, she focuses on the fundamental issues faced by graduates and proposes a holistic understanding of the system of support in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process of their gaining independence.