Modern paganism: new religious craze in Hungary?

Modern paganism is one example of a line of movements that turn away from established religions and towards ancient traditions. These contemporary movements are becoming more and more popular in the world and Hungary, as well. Here is a look at some trends, and a possible explanation for their popularity.

What is modern paganism/neopaganism?

The word pagan comes from the Latin paganus, meaning villager, rustic, or rural, a collective term used in the Roman Empire for those who did not practice Christianity or Judaism but some other ethnoreligion, or were polytheistic.

When we speak of neopaganism (also contemporary/modern paganism), Réka Szilárdi writes on litera.hu in a study of the current paganist resurgence, it denotes the modern followers of longstanding pagan traditions. While paganism is an umbrella term for an eclectic array of smaller groups, generally speaking, paganism is polytheistic, it is centred around nature and/or magic, and its followers typically aim to reconstruct pre-Christian cults.

This new kind of movement can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, when countless new religious movements appeared worldwide, all of which tried to provide answers to the uncertainties in the modern world, such as the issue of climate change.

In the last 60 years, the movements have spread from the United States to Central Eastern Europe, and today, their followers can also be found in Hungary.

Modern paganism is conquering the internet

The recent expansion of modern paganism is closely related to internet trends, index.hu writes in its article about the religion in Hungary. The witchtok (i.e. witch TikTok) community on TikTok, for example, has a large following, full of fortune-telling, astrology, card reading, and natural remedies, among other nature-related practices.

Despite popular belief, modern paganism does not involve animal sacrifice or other similar procedures. On the contrary, the followers of neopaganism seek to draw attention to harmony with nature.

Scholars of the phenomenon believe that the popularity of paganism can be explained by the fact that today, many people are disillusioned with the modern world. Because of this, they are looking for alternative worldviews.

Indeed, in the United States, the number of people who identify as pagans has increased tenfold in 20 years: today there are approximately one and a half million followers of this movement. Similarly, this alternative worldview is also very popular in England and Wales: while in 2011, roughly 57 thousand people declared themselves pagans in the census, by 2021, this number reached 74 thousand.

At the same time, looking at the census data, it can also be seen that the number of followers of the traditional major religions is constantly decreasing.

Modern paganism pops up in Hungary

The decline of traditional religiosity is also typical in Hungary: in 2001, the census counted 5.5 million Catholics and 1.6 million Protestants, by 2022, their numbers had decreased to 2.9 million and 950 thousand, respectively.

“Today in Hungary, the number of people who belong to some kind of pagan community can be put to at least ten thousand, but maybe even more.”

theologian Zoltán Cser, director of the Dharma Gate Buddhist Church, told Index.

Cser finds that for many people a return to the countryside is very attractive, due to its distance from the modern world. Many people strive for self-sufficiency and want to be close to nature. And more and more, they turn to pagan religions, because they feel that the historical churches are not able to give answers to their problems.

In her study, Szilárdi highlights that modern paganism in post-socialist countries shows significant differences compared to its Western counterpart. In Eastern European countries, the revitalisation of pre-Christian, local tribal traditions (and ancestral religions), and the assertion of national identity are extremely important for the communities. For example, shamanism is prominent among these groups. For this reason, (sometimes radical) right-wing political activity can often be observed in these groups.

At the same time, interest in more “Western-type” religions, such as Wicca, is also present in the country. For these groups, which Szilárdi calls “imported” movements, the issue of national identity is less central.

Read also:

• Hungarian ancestry unveiled: Fascinating study links ancient Hungarians to Hun warriors
• Hungarian natural demographic decline highest in Europe

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Source: Index, Litera