Seekers Or Dweller: the Social Character of Religion in Hungary: Hungarian Philosophical Studies, II
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Cultural Heritage and Contempary Change Series IVA. Eastern and Central European Philosophical Studies, Volume 54 Series VIII. Christian Philosophical Studies, Volume 15 General Editor George F. McLean Seekers or Dwellers? Social Character of Religion in Hungary Edited by Zsuzsanna Bögre The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Copyright © 2016 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Box 261 Cardinal Station Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Seekers or dwellers : the social character of religion in Hungary / edited by Zsuzsanna Bögre. -- first [edition]. pages cm. -- (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series IVA, Eastern and Central European philosophical studies; Volume 54) (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series VIII, Christian philosophical studies; Volume 15) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Hungary--Religion--21st century. 2. Religion--Social aspects-- Hungary. 3. Religion and sociology--Hungary. 4. Christianity--Hungary. 5. Catholic Church--Hungary. I. Bögre, Zsuzsanna, editor. BL980.H8S44 2015 2014042971 200.9439'09051--dc23 CIP ISBN 978-1-56518-306-3 (pbk.) Table of Contents Introduction 1 Zsuzsanna Bögre Part I. Contextualization of Theoreatical Frameworks 1. Between Dogma and History: The Social Character of Religion in an Historistic Age 9 Zoltán Hidas 2. A People’s Church toward a Seeker-Friendly Catholicism in Hungary 25 András Máté-Tóth 3. Dweller on the Gallows: Additives of a Central European Anti- Communist Desecularization Theory 51 Ákos Lázár Kovács Part II. Context of the Hungarian Church—State Relationship 4. A Short History of the Hungarian Catholic Church (1945-1990) 81 Csaba Szabó 5. Relations between the Historically Established Churches and the New Protestant Entities in Hungary in the 19th-20th Centuries 137 Zoltán Rajki Part III. Media Representation of the Church in the Hungarian Media 6. Church, People and Media in Hungary 169 Mónika Andok Part IV. Empirical Research on “Seekers and Dwellers” 7. Individual Religiosity, Secularization and Seekers among Hungarian Youth 195 Zsuzsanna Bögre 8. Seekers and Dwellers in the Light of Empirical Social Research 213 Gergely Rosta and Rita Hegedűs 9. Seekers and Dwellers? The ’Pálferi’ Phenomenon 235 Péter Török Contributors 263 Index 265 Introduction ZSUZSANNA BÖGRE At the first meeting of the Hungarian research group at Loyola Café in Budapest at 6 p.m. on 13th March 2013 it was not even suspected that at the Vatican and within the hour a South-American Jesuit would be elected Pope. All were extremely enthusiastic after the meeting and our project would gain a new perspective from the new direction of Pope Francis. We thought our efforts would help produce real engagement from the Church as a whole. First of all we were thinking about what could be the most suitable topic for Hungary. The group members came from different fields of the social sciences and different universities from all over Hungary. Before this joint project we had known each other virtually but not personally or deeply. In the very beginning we had difficulty in making any decision about which side of the disjunction project would be suitable for us. In the end it was clear the most relevant issue for our group was “Seekers and Dwellers.” We have had fruitful, profitable and heated debates almost every second month over two years. Our discussions were really beneficial for all. However, the aim was not to reach a common understanding, but to gather scholars from different disciplines using different points of views to share outlooks with each other for a better understanding. Readers will find broad variety in the tone of the essays and studies that range from a neutral scientific tone to a more engaged style because of the Church persecution of the communist era. Twenty five years is a very short time for the social life so we are still in the process of interpreting the consequences of the communist era. Part I. Contextualization of theoretical frameworks Zoltán Hidas puts the seekers – dwellers problem in a historical and philosophical perspective, recapitulating the most crucial characteristics as: (a) extended organizations offering general salvation for everyone that can be defined as churches. Their members dwell from birth in well-organized hierarchies of clerics in holy orders; and rather lax moral requirements adapted to the everyday receptivity of the masses, (b) exclusive communities 2 Zsuzsanna Bögre bestowing redemption upon religiously qualified adherents that can be counted as sects: characterized as a common moral rigour, resting upon an experienced inner rebirth. This sectarian enthusiasm often brings about a detachment from the world as a place full of dangers and temptations. (c) A third form of social Christian conduct is mysticism which is the most unformed because of its private basis. The incessant possibility and hope of inner illumination as a possession of special dispositions makes and keeps this formation permanently fluid. Being filled with the “spirit” in our entire being can estrange one from dogmas and institutions even from the dogma of hostility to everything that is officially fixed. Withdrawal from the outer orders is a result of such renunciation of every institutional mediation in the name of authenticity. András Máté-Tóth analyses the distinction between seekers and dwellers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). After some clarifications regarding the terms he turns to the contextual understanding of the mutual interaction between church behaviour and people’s attitudes in Hungary which he calls the People’s Church. Rather than a homogeneous and monochrome image of the church, he differentiates between three dimensions: hierarchical church, which he calls “church leadership,” the initiative, which he refers to as church project, and finally, the individual, which means for him church related private attitudes of individual people. After investigating he found that in Hungary the time is ready to make the paradigmatic turn towards modern church teaching and practice for Christians and for the Catholic Church, which means a hermeneutic turn for the reader of the Gospel and those who consumer church provided spiritual goods. To be a dweller in Church and in Christian tradition means to be a seeker of truth and the life of Jesus. Ákos Kovács examines the presence of the secularization thesis in post-communist countries. Recently the relevance of the so-called secularization thesis, which states that secularization proceeds from an inner necessity of modernization, has lost ground. Modernization in the USA developed together with a strengthening of religion. Furthermore, since the speech of Habermas in 2001, the concept of post-secular society has been widely used. For many, it indicates the beginning of a new era, especially because sociologists who forecast the total disappearance of religion in the 1970s now tend to talk about the re-sacralization of the social world. This new era might Introduction 3 provide a public floor for religious beliefs, e.g. in the form of public debates. The second part of the study tries to prepare an anti- communist secularization thesis in the hope that the eastern European experience can be integrated into the current discourses on the secularization thesis. Further he discusses the questions of church publicity, the legitimate bias of existence and the problems of political martyrdom, apocalyptic and eschatological historical perspective and anamnestic culture. The study is built on the assumption that there can be no progress in the genesis of the secularization thesis without any integration of the experience of communism in people’s culture. Part II. Historical Context of the Hungarian Church – State Relationship This part introduces the Church – State relationship after the Second World War. The Communist regime affected religious life in our county in very complex ways, especially for the Catholic Church. A specific picture of the historically established churches and the new Protestant entities in Hungary will help us to understand the Catholic Church’s position through history. Csaba Szabó gives an overview about the history of the Hungarian Catholic church between 1945 and 1990. Regarding the ‘world’s political situation the study focuses on the relationship between the church and the one-party state. The 45 years of socialism are this divided into two longer eras, and both of them into shorter periods. I. The first, active time of the church lasted from 1945-1956 and contains as smaller periods: 1. The elimination of the democracy (1945-1948). 2. The stabilization of the communist power (1948-1951) and 3. A totalitarianship (1951-1953-1956). II. The second, the passive era of the church lasted from 1956-1990 with the change of the political system. The downfall of the revolution and freedom fighters in 1956, had significant influence on the thinking of the church, about a one-party state, for the entire Hungarian society. The sub-periods of the era are: 1. The continuation of the dictatorship (1956-1962) 2. The Ostpolitik and its influence (1962-1971) and 3. The period of the “small steps” (1972-1989). Zoltán Rajki examines the relationship between historical churches and “classical new protestant” entities not only historical aspects, but also some religious sociological approaches typical of 4 Zsuzsanna Bögre sect-church, seekers – dwellers and Berger’s