Népi vallásosság a Kárpát-medencében 5/II. Konferencia Pápán, 1999. június 22-24. (Veszprém, 2001)

Rezümé

Resümee How the Baroque view of the world and its concepts of religion and life appeared on the level of peasant culture has inspired many studies. We know that popular religiosity and its impression of the Baroque was very significant. The faith of the common people among both Catholics and Protestants became more colourful and richer in emotional content. Furthermore, it is also significant that a number of new Protestant groups appeared and flourished along with Lutheranism and Calvinism. The newer groups believed that God wanted to revive religion and that traditional Lutheranism and Calvinism were no longer sufficient. According to East-European ecclesiastical histories movements such as Puritanism, Methodism and Quakerism were concomitants or after-effects of the Reformation and appeared mosdy in Western Europe. Nevertheless the author has found evidence that they made their appearance among the peasants and nobles of Eastern Europe as well. Some of these Eastern European neo-Protestants were connected to the new western religious groups but others were „spontaneous revivals". Unlike the original Protestants most of these later groups did not want to bring about an aggressive reformation. They only wanted to live moral lives in accordance with the Bible. Some of these small religious groups remained the part of established churches, while others organized independent communities. The preachers spoke about the necessity of conversion, the nature of true faith, the morally upright life, and the visions they received from the Holy Spirit. In general in these interesting prophecies and revelations, which they claimed to have received from the Holy Spirit, the preachers understood themselves to be transmitting the words of God and providing explanations for future events in a particularly aesthetic style and a most convincing, fresh and vivid form. The conditions of these small religious groups remained unchanged after the spread of the Enlightenment. The enlightened absolutism of the second half of Maria Theresa's reign (1740-1780) and under Joseph II (1780-1790) followed a tolerant religious policy. Joseph II'

s ecclesiastical policy helped to shore up the peaceful conditions of the Lutheran and the Calvinist churches. Nevertheless he wanted to subordinate the interests of the churches to those of the state. Joseph II recognized only the two major Protestant churches, the Lutheran and the Calvinist, but he would not hear of tolerance for the newer religious movements. In this Joseph II was particularly under the influence of Samuel Pufendorf s De habitu religionis. Accordingly the Lutherans and the Calvinists were good for the state, but other sects were considered to be public enemies. They could not count on the good will of the enlightened monarch. Other leading statesmen, such as Kaunitz and Hartzfeld among others, also shared this opinion. Maria Theresa heartily persecuted the Anabaptists and liquidated their artisan communities. Others were separated from their families and scattered throughout various parts of the Habsburg Empire. During the Enlightenment we can also observe a change in Catholic terminology. During the first half of the eighteenth century the words sect and sectarian were applied to every non-Catholic church and individual respectively. Thus Calvinists and Lutherans were included. But under enlightened absolutism the Catholic church and the government authorities began to distinguish the older Protestant groups from newer more dangerous movements. Nevertheless, during this period more and more popular preachers appeared in Hungary. This study deals primarily with a neo-Protestant revival in the small village of Tiszadob in Szabolcs County in 1741. The author analyzes the social and theologi443