Protestant Ethic, Religiosity and Migration in Hungary at the Reformation 500th Anniversary

The church sociology research group of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary has conducted a large-sample survey research during the summer of 2014 in eight locations in Hungary, reaching out to 1456 adult respondents and during the summer of 2015 in five locations in Hungary, reaching out to 887 adult respondents. Though in the study we applied a random sampling of households only on the level of the pre-selected settlements, the findings plausibly reflected the social and cultural characteristics of Hungarian townships below 25.000 with a partly secularized population of a multi-confessional background. The survey questionnaire included variables inquiring about social-demographical background (gender, age, school attainment, labour status, subjective perception of social status and income), religious identity and behaviour, denominational affiliation, as well as several indicators of faith and belief. Furthermore, the study put a special focus on subjective well-being, life satisfaction, physiological and mental health, too.

We aim to scrutinize faith values and belief as well as the mental and psychological well-being of those asserting an uncertain religious identity, either through self-identification (i.e. classifying themselves as „religious in their own way”) or showing loose ties to traditional institutionalized religiosity through their religious behaviour. We will examine whether an internal structure of faith and belief is related to religious behaviour, religious identity and self-classification. Our focus is on what is behind religious identifications and how it interacts with subjective well-being and mental health, a key function of religious affiliation according to previous research. Thus, our findings will contribute to the research into understanding the meaning of the category „religious in their own way” and also the changing role of religion in contemporary Hungarian society.