Catholicism: a historic pillar in decline
Hungarian Catholicism, introduced under the reign of King St. Stephen, founder of the Christian state in the year 1000, still structures the country's religious culture. In 2022, 29.2% of the population was Catholic. The Basilica of St. Stephen in Budapest embodies this heritage, as does the Basilica of St. Stephen in Székesfehérvár. Pope Francis' last visit to Hungary in April 2023 left a lasting impression: warmly welcomed, he nonetheless voiced implicit criticism of the government, particularly with regard to the reception of migrants.
Protestantism
Stemming from the 16th-century Reformation, Hungarian Protestantism is mainly represented by Reformed Calvinists (9.8%) and Lutherans (1.8%). It remains firmly established in the east and southeast of the country, particularly around Debrecen, nicknamed "Calvinist Rome". The sober, monumental Great Reformed Church of Debrecen is the national symbol.
Despite the decline in church attendance, Protestant churches retain local influence and sometimes play an important social and educational role, notably through their denominational schools and universities.
Judaism
Before the Second World War, Jews accounted for 5% of the Hungarian population and up to a quarter of the population of Budapest. The Shoah tragically reduced this community: almost 600,000 Hungarian Jews were exterminated between 1944 and 1945. Today, Jews represent around 1% of the population, divided between Hungarians of Jewish origin and a minority of Israelis living in Budapest.
The Great Synagogue on Dohány Street, the largest in Europe, bears witness to this rich heritage. Despite a modest cultural revival, anti-Semitic tensions persist, despite the state's desire to recognize the memory of the Holocaust.
Orthodoxy: a minority tied to its neighbors
Orthodox Christians, mainly Romanian, Serbian and Ukrainian, account for around 0.2% of the population. Their presence reflects the diversity of the country's borders and history. Hungarian Orthodox churches are often small, but artistically rich. In Szentendre, the Belgrade Church boasts remarkable frescoes and a lively liturgy.
Islam
The Muslim community in Hungary is extremely small, representing less than 0.1% of the population. It consists mainly of foreign students, diplomats, shopkeepers and a few Hungarian converts. The public visibility of Islam is very low: official mosques are rare, and religious practice is often discreet.
Islam has been tolerated but not recognized as an official religion in Hungary since the 2011 Church Act came into force (amended in 2012 and again in 2019). This law reduced the number of denominations benefiting from the status of "established church" by the state, from around one hundred to fourteen. Islam is not one of them, which means that Muslim communities cannot claim certain public benefits, nor official representation in national bodies. This also limits their ability to run schools or hospitals, or to benefit from tax exemptions on the same basis as recognized religions.
Although Hungary has officially been a secular state since the end of the Communist regime, its secularism is based on a "cooperative" model. The state recognizes certain religions, including Catholicism, Calvinism, Lutheranism and Judaism, and actively collaborates with them. On the other hand, non-recognized religious groups, such as Islam or certain evangelical or neo-Protestant communities, are relegated to the status of private associations. They can worship, but without the same legal framework or public support reserved for established religions. This distinction is regularly denounced as discriminatory, as it creates a hierarchy between cults, in contradiction with the principles of equality and religious freedom. This system reflects a conception of secularism that differs from that applied in France, where the State is neutral and does not finance any religion.
Centuries of Ottoman occupation have left Hungary with some fine examples of Islamic architecture, such as the mosque in Pecs, which is inseparable from the city's main square.
Popular beliefs and living traditions
Although religious practice has clearly declined, folk traditions remain firmly rooted in Hungarian culture. First-name feasts, celebrated daily according to a liturgical or historical calendar, give rise to simple but warm attentions: small gifts, flowers and meals with family and friends. At Easter, some regions still perpetuate the ancestral ritual of boys sprinkling girls with water or perfume on Monday, a symbolic gesture of fertility now seen as folkloric, even outdated. The village of Hollókő, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands out for the preservation of spectacular Easter customs: the inhabitants dress up in traditional costumes and organize songs, dances and parades that attract numerous visitors every year, curious to discover this lively part of Magyar folklore.
Other emblematic celebrations include the Busójárás de Mohács, a pagan masked carnival featuring masked men dressed in animal skins who symbolically chase away winter and evil spirits. This noisy, spectacular festival has its origins in Slavic and Balkan traditions, and combines music, fire and ancient rites. Finally, certain rural beliefs still survive, such as the fear of the evil eye, faith in tündérek - the fairies of Hungarian folklore - or the use of thermal waters, considered purifying and healing for centuries.
