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Rapprochement of

cultures – the Hungarian way

Dr Péter Hoppál, State Secretary for Culture, Hungary

he Hungarian people arrived in their homeland

from the East more than 1,000 years ago. They

came from a place where great empires forged

together peoples of different languages, cultures and

creeds for centuries. In his Admonitions to his son Emeric

in the early eleventh century, Hungary’s first Christian

king, Saint Stephen, said:

“Unius linguae uniusque moris

regnum imbecille et fragile est”

(a kingdom that has only

one language and one custom is weak and fragile). These

words indicate that the Hungarian state in the Carpathian

Basin had a deep-rooted tradition of uniting diversities.

Waves of migrations have reached Hungary from all direc-

tions; Saxons, Cumans, Romanians, South Slavs, Germans

and Jews came in large masses, preserving their traditions

for shorter or longer periods of time, but all contributing

to Hungary’s cultural diversity. Except for a short era filled

with sorrow, Hungary has remained open to various influ-

ences and received these communities with open arms.

The new Fundamental Law of Hungary adopted in 2011

reflects this thousand-year-old tradition, and the religion,

education and culture policy of our current state is concord-

ant with this historical legacy and principles.

Until the late nineteenth century, the primary source of

education in Central and Eastern Europe was religion. In

our region this was led by Catholicism, but Protestantism

also had a strong influence after the Reformation in the

sixteenth century. However, the attitude of all Hungarians

was shaped by the perception that first provided equal rights

to the Christian denominations in 1568 at the Diet of Torda,

whose adherents in other parts of Europe fought bloody and

prolonged fraternal wars. This is why followers of Eastern

Christianity, then also Jewish people, were admitted to the

country in great numbers, and both were given the opportu-

nity to integrate into Hungarian society.

Pursuant to our laws, today everyone has the right to freedom

of thought, conscience and religion. The state and religious

communities are separate; religious communities are given inde-

pendence and may decide to cooperate with the state at their

own discretion. Their initiatives are assessed by the Parliament.

Religious communities participating in such a framework of

cooperation are accepted churches, and due to their participa-

tion in community service they enjoy unique privileges.

There are 32 recognized churches in Hungary (communi-

ties with a great past and highly embedded in society, such as

Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran, Jewish and Orthodox, but also

numerous other internationally recognized protestant churches,

such as Methodists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Mormons and the

Salvation Army). Somewhat uniquely in Europe, the authen-

tic Hungarian representatives of great world religions, such as

Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus, are also working as recognized

churches in Hungary. Otherwise, any religious community may

use the designation ‘church’ and may be registered with the

word ‘church’ in its official name.

The Hungarian state considers religious communities as

partners in efforts for public welfare, hence it supports various

programmes with this view in mind. In order to promote reli-

gious diversity and dialogue between religious communities,

not only professional consultations and educational activities,

but also international conferences which dwelled upon the

situation in Hungary and practices in other countries, were

needed. The most prominent event was the Conference on the

Christian-Jewish-Islamic Dialogue in Gödöll

in June 2011,

which was held in the context of Hungary’s presidency of

the Council of the European Union. In addition to European

participants, this conference was attended by the religious and

secular representatives of Russia, the United States of America

Hungary believes that an ethical cooperation based on mutual respect is the

foundation of a true rapprochement of cultures

Image: National Institute for Culture

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