The Cultural Transition and the Attitudes of Polish Immigrant Families Towards Divorce and Parental Authority in the United States, 1931-1940

Sep 2, 2026

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This dissertation investigates Father Justyn Figas’s radio talks and listener questions to trace how Polish immigrant families in the United States changed their attitudes toward marriage unity and parental authority during the 1930s. Drawing on archival material on the Rosary Hour in Athol Springs, New York, it analyzes pressures within a liberal American cultural environment and the role of patriarchal authority supported by society and the Church. It concludes that survival was unlikely, while valued practices persisted through “wise” enculturation and education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatDOCX

Pages983

Reading Time5 h 44 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

A Stepping Stone: The Polish emigrants in Northwest England & their religious culture

Summary

Father Justyn and the Rosary Hour: An overview of the role of the Rosary Hour and its founder

Father Justyn and his audience

The beginning of a broadcasting career

Themes of the new Radio program

Overview of the radio topics until 1940

Mechanics and structure of the radio program

Threats to the family and community

External threats

Internal threats

Summary

Vision of the Polish family: Reconstructing of the family in the American environment 1931-1932

Faith as a family value

Feedback from the radio listeners

Questions regarding faith

Marriage unity

Questions regarding divorce

Questions regarding mixed marriages

Parental authority

Questions related to the problem of parental authority

Patriotism

Questions related to patriotism

Work

Questions related to work

Soberness

Questions related to soberness

Summary

Faith and marriage: Reinforcing the Christian values among the Polish-Americans

Faith

Superstition

Marriage unity

Summary

Gender: Family threats and alterations in the woman’s traditional roles

Divorce

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA The Cultural Transition and the Attitudes of Polish Immigrant Families Towards Divorce and Parental Authority in the United States, 1931-1940 A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of History School of Arts and Sciences Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Stanislaw Hajkowski Washington, D.C. 2010 The Cultural Transition and the Attitudes of Polish Immigrant Families Towards Divorce and Parental Authority in the United States, 1931-1940 Fr. Stanislaw Hajkowski, S.Chr. Director: Leslie Tentler, Ph.D. Preaching the Gospel to the poor has always been emphasized by Christianity and the development of the radio at the beginning of the Twenties created a new, powerful tool to use for this task. Many leaders of religious communities noticed in the new invention an opportunity and used radio broadcast to both convert the unbelievers and provide teaching and support to faithful. The historical literature on early twentiethcentury radio preachers in the United States includes numerous studies on Protestant and Catholic radio preachers; for example, a Protestant minister, S. Parkes Cadman began using radio broadcasts in 1923 and reached an audience of five million and in the 1930s, a famous radio evangelist, the Roman Catholic priest Father Charles Coughlin, had forty million listeners tuning in to his programs. In English historical literature very little attention has been given so far to Father Justyn Figas, a Conventual Franciscan, who began his broadcasting career in 1926 and, by the end of Thirties he had an audience of close to three million listening to his broadcasts. Father Justyn’s programs, delivered in Polish, were addressed mainly to the Polish immigrants in the United States. This dissertation examines Father Justyn’s radio talks and questions from the listeners to show the change in the attitudes of the first and second generation of Polish immigrants in the Thirties towards marriage unity and parental authority, the key values of the Christian family. In the new social and cultural environment the immigrant family acted like a sensitive barometer registering the social, cultural and religious pressures of the time. After analyzing the materials available in the Archives in Athol Springs, New York about Father Justin’s Rosary Hour, this dissertation concludes that the immigrant family, often based on the patriarchal authority of the father supported by society and the Church, had no chance of surviving in the liberal American cultural environment. However, the values of parental authority and marriage unity were still practiced by these immigrant individuals and families who absorbed into their value system an appreciation for “wise” enculturation into the new society and education. This dissertation by Stanislaw Hajkowski, S.Chr. fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in United States Catholic History approved by Leslie Tentler, Ph.D., as Director, and by Christopher Kauffman, Ph.D. and Timothy Meagher, Ph.D. as Readers. _______________________________________ Leslie Tentler, Ph.D., Director _______________________________________ Christopher Kauffman, Ph.D., Reader _______________________________________ Timothy Meagher, Ph.D., Reader The family, which is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons: of husband and wife, of parents and children, of relatives. Its first task is to live with fidelity the reality of communion in a constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons. The inner principle of that task, its permanent power and its final goal is love: without love the family is not a community of persons and, in the same way, without love the family cannot live, grow and perfect itself as a community of persons. Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio John Paul II Table of Contents Foreword…………………………………………………………………………. v

FAQs

What is the main subject of the dissertation?

It examines Father Justyn’s Polish-language radio talks and the questions listeners sent, focusing on changes in attitudes toward marriage unity and parental authority among Polish immigrant families in the 1930s.

Which source material does the dissertation rely on?

It analyzes available archival materials in Athol Springs, New York, related to Father Justyn’s Rosary Hour, alongside the structure and themes of the radio broadcasts.

What conclusion does the dissertation reach about immigrant families in the liberal American environment?

It concludes that immigrant families—often rooted in patriarchal authority supported by society and the Church—had little chance of surviving in the liberal American cultural environment, even though valued practices continued through enculturation and education.

Sep 2, 2026

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