The Study of New Religions in Hungary Before and After the Fall of the Iron Curtain (Panel)

Type of Abstract (select): Panel Discussion

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Scholars of new religions studies (NRS) – specialized in new and emergent religiosity appearing since the Second World War – face unique challenges when discussing new religiosity in Hungarian contexts. In Western societies, emergent religiosity and its cultural milieu had nearly forty years to gradually develop since the late 1950s. This process was closely followed by the watchful eyes of the academic study of religions. However, on the opposite side of the Iron Curtain, most movements had next to no chance to establish longevity. With a few exceptional grassroots movements, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, and Pentecostals, new religiosity was effectively held back from Central and Eastern Europe until the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the 1989-1991 regime changes and the following opening towards the West brought an uncountable number of new and alternative religions into the region, stirring serious societal concerns and creating a need for understanding these strange new movements. The Hungarian field of the academic study of religions was initially overwhelmed by the sudden abundance of new movements (and in some parts, it struggles even today to catch up to Western standards). My presentation aims to explore the Hungarian academic production closely before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The lecture will cover the early years of a still-forming NRS scholarship, outlining the initial explorations of involved researchers. Lastly, I will conclude my presentation by compiling current trends and ongoing research projects related to new religiosity in Hungary.
My paper is part of the proposed CESAR Panel, which Dr. Éva Petrás already discussed with the organizers.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Márk Nemes is a doctoral candidate of the University of Szeged's Málnási Bartók György Doctoral School of Philosophy. His main research interest is the academic study of new religious movements, with specific focus on systematic theory of religion. He is a founding member of CESAR, a founder of the IVHK conference-series and a former president of the Philosophy Department of the Association of Hungarian PhD and DLA Students. He is currently a Hungarian National Eötvös scholar, conducting his individual research at CESNUR Torino (Italy).