ABSTRACT

MostHungarians have a denominational identity and consider themselves to be believers.However, only about 15 percent of the population attend church regularly. Around half of the population of Hungary describe themselves as “believing in their own way.” After rapid and enforced secularization after the crackdown on the 1956 revolution against the communist system in the 1960s, there has been since the late 1970s an increasing trend towards religiosity.1 For the census conducted in 2001, a question on religion was included. The question was formulated in an open way (there were no predefined answers); response was optional and anonymous, for reasons of data protection. The results of the census showed that 55 percent of the population was Catholic, 15 percent Reformed (Calvinist), 3 percent Lutheran, and less than 2 percent belonged to more than 100 different faith communities. Ten percent of citizens failed to give an answer, and 15 percent declared not to have a denomination.2