End of socialism and Churches in Hungary – from a grass-root perspective

Abstract

The change of political system 1989-1990 resulted in a favourable position of the religious communities in Hungary. The state ceased to practise a strict control and guidence over the Churches, new possibilities for social activities presented themselves and the traditional Churches regained most of their real estates confiscated by the com-munist state after the WW II. These changes were also perceptible at Siófok, in a relatively small town, a summer resort by Lake Balaton. Churches were built also in the final years of communism, demon-strating the evidently lacking benevolence of the state. At first a synagogue was built at Siófok for the guests from abroad, which was followed by a Lutheran Church built with the contribution of a partner-settlement in Finland. At the beginning of the new epoch, as a part of the process of restitution, the Catholic and the Reformed Churches have got new buildings, later on Franciscan Sisters settled down in the town, and NGO-s – like Scout movement and the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta – started their activities bound to some of the Churches. This paper presents the process of a new ecclesial inculturation on the basis of the relevant documents preserved in the archives of the local religious communities.