Valláskutató Intézet - Research

The Challenges of the Churches in the Changing Social Environment

2024-07-21T13:43:04+03:00

The churches have always fulfilled their duties and vocation in a changing social environment, but these changes have accelerated in recent decades. Due to the processes of economic and cultural globalization, the social conditions that defined the lives of people in the Eastern European region have changed, and a new post-industrial social system has begun to form. As a result of these changes, the social challenges faced by the churches have undergone a significant transformation. An indicator of these changes is the transformation that has occurred in the work of the clergy. An increasingly large discrepancy has begun to develop between the envisioned duties of the clergy upon completing theological studies and the challenges they face in their actual work. In our research, we examine how the diverse social reality of the churches has changed over the past decades and what changes have been brought about in the various areas of clerical work, and, consequently, what new difficulties clerics must confront.

Therefore, our research directly targets the clergy population, but through them, it also provides a comprehensive picture of the reality of congregations. The results of the research can serve as an essential starting point for the development of church strategies, and also as a tool for the renewal of practical aspects of clergy training.

Religious Life in Transylvania During the Coronavirus Pandemic

2024-07-21T13:42:22+03:00

The gathering restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have placed churches in a difficult situation, hindering the possibility of personal relationships between worshipers and clergy, thereby hindering the fulfillment of basic church duties. Faced with this challenge, clergy have sought to carry out the church's mission primarily through internet-based opportunities, thereby presenting worshipers with new and challenging tasks. To understand the solutions implemented by clergy in this crisis situation, their effectiveness, and how worshipers utilized these online services—along with the advantages and disadvantages observed—the Institute for Religious Studies in Cluj-Napoca initiated a survey-based research using an online questionnaire.
Data collection took place from April 22 to May 2, 2020, utilizing an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was promoted on the websites of churches predominantly serving Hungarian-speaking congregations in Transylvania (Roman Catholic, Reformed, Unitarian, Lutheran), church mailing lists, Facebook groups, and various online portals. A total of 3,975 individuals participated in the survey, including 456 priests/ministers.

Research Team Members:
Kiss Dénes (Research Coordinator), Bálint Róbert Zoltán, Fejes Ildikó, Szabó Mihály

Analysis of Research Results (in Hungarian):

Religious Life in Transylvania During the Coronavirus Pandemic I. Clergy During the Curfew
Religious Life in Transylvania During the Coronavirus Pandemic II. Research Results Among Worshipers
Religious Life in Transylvania During the Coronavirus Pandemic III. Conclusions and Recommendations

Theoretical Considerations for Developing a Diaspora Strategy for the Unitarian Church

2024-07-21T13:41:46+03:00

A significant part of the Unitarian population lives in local minority, even in Transylvania, the place of origin of this denomination. Thus, the problem of dispersion is of particular importance in the case of the Unitarian Church, and this problem is further accentuated by the continued growth of diaspora communities. In order to manage the specific problems of diaspora congregations and find solutions, the church has established a diaspora commission, which aims to deal with the specific problems of diaspora communities. The activity of the commission for the diaspora is supported by the Institute of Religious Studies by developing basic materials, reviewing the theoretical considerations of religious and ethnic dispersion, elaborating a statistical description of the unitary diaspora and developing a typology of diaspora communities.

Material developed as a result of the project: Basic theoretical concepts of the diaspora issue

Unitarians in Transylvania in the 21st Century: Socio-demographic Characteristics of the Unitarian Population Reflected in Census Data

2024-07-21T13:40:37+03:00

Understanding the demographic and sociological characteristics of believers is crucial for the development of church strategies. In our research, we aimed to analyze the evolution over time of the number of Unitarians in Transylvania, their territorial distribution, as well as their socio-demographic characteristics. Census data were utilized for this purpose. The first inquiry was based on published census data, while the second was made possible by accessing a database comprising a random sample of 10% of census data. This database, containing information on over 2 million individuals, allows for the examination of correlations between any two recorded characteristics with minimal margin of error. For our analysis, we utilized a census database from 2011 provided by IPUMS International, which included information on over 5,000 individuals identifying themselves as Unitarian.

In our research, we sought to answer the following questions:

How will the number of Unitarian Church members change in the long term?
What is the territorial distribution of Unitarians in Transylvania?
How do Unitarians integrate into the local community structure in Transylvania?
What are the most important socio-demographic characteristics of Unitarians compared to the general population?
How do Unitarians integrate into the social structure?

The research yielded the following two analyses:

Development of a Cadastre of the Institutional System of Churches in Transylvania with a Predominantly Hungarian Population

2024-07-21T13:38:48+03:00

The transparency of the organizational structure of churches and the easiest possible contact with local church organizations are important premises for both social programs and research efforts. Through our data collection and systematization program (in partnership with the National Minority Research Institute) we set this goal. As a result of the project, we created a database of church organizations that includes the parishes of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Romania, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea and Satu Mare, the Hungarian Unitarian Church and the Association of Hungarian Baptist Churches in Romania. The program implemented within the Erdélystat project took place between December 2018 and March 2019.

A simplified version of the database is available on the Erdélystat website under the heading "Parishes, congregations and daughter churches receiving religious services in Hungarian Language". (http://intezmenytar.erdelystat.ro/intezmenyek/magyar-nyelv-vallasi-szolgaltatasban-reszesl-egyhazkozsegek-gylekezetek-leanyegyhazak/10)