HIS-Press-Service, 1977 (2. évfolyam, 5-8. szám)
1977-12-01 / 8. szám
HIS Press Service No.8. December 1977 Page 2 Up until the end of the Second World War, religious instruction was mainly carried out through the activity of the confessionally-run schools and the mandatory two hours of instruction per week presented in the public schools. Of the primary schools, 40 % were confessional; of the non-special ized secondary schools, 28 %. Viewed as a whole, the two hours of religious instruction given in the schools proved sufficient for satisfying all the needs and endeavors of the Church in the religious education of the youth. The situation open to the evangel ization carried on through various press publications was also very favorable in the pre-war era in Hungary: There were 20 Church publishing companies which yearly produced about 200 religious works, some of them being Hungarian originals, others having been translated from a foreign language. Taking into consideration the total number of Catholics in the country (6.5-7 million), however, it must be said that the size of the printings was rather small. In addition to these books, there appeared 48 news publications, some of which were completely religious; others were cultural and political publications with religious overtones. These functioned as daily papers, or as weekly or monthly magazines. They were published in large numbers and sold well. The positive attitude of society toward religion helped strengthen and secure the place of religious instruction and evangelization. Public life rested extensively upon religiously-based principles. Evangelization itself was carried on through the pastoral program of the local church. Measures which promoted the Church's influence upon the whole of society played an important role in the organization of the Church. It was only at the end of the 30's that an organization of Church parishes whose aim was to promote the faith of the parish members was finally undertaken. This program has still not been fully carried out. The dynamic elements present in the Church were its exceptionally widespread religious associations, which served either in promoting the faith or were of a professional or political character. At that time a simple faith was still characteristic of broad spectrums of the population. The members of Catholic associations were recruited mainly from intellectual circles, although a majority of the rural population too played a highly active part in the life of these associations. The main thrust of evangelical activity was given special emphasis through the organizational development of the Actio Catholica, which was founded in the 30's. The chief task of this organization was to coordinate Catholic organizational activity in accordance with the wishes of the Bishops Conference. Up until 1950, the approximately 2,000 men and the 8,000 women belonging to various religious orders within the country played a vital role in helping diocesan clergymen in their work of religious instruction and evangelization. The 180 religious houses for men, and 450 for women, served as points of commencement, and frequently
