Religious securitization and the model of wounded collective identity in Hungarian society based on empirical data

In our paper, we argue that the interpretation of the development of religiosity in Hungary can be carried out in a new and original way based on the theories of wounded collective identity and securitization. In the first step, we clarify the theoretical approach by summarizing the traumatized identity characteristic of the Central and Eastern European region, including Hungarian society, and its implications for interpreting religiosity. In presenting the theoretical approach, we draw on Anthony Giddens’ theory of ontological security and András Máté-Tóth’s theory of wounded collective identity. By combining the two theories and referring to the relevant literature in Hungarian, we present the most relevant claims of our theoretical approach. In a second step, we analyze data collected by TÁRKI [abridgment of the Social Research Institute in Hungary] in 2022 on a representative sample to test the theory, showing the mutual effects between religiosity, the sense of woundedness, and the desire for security. We believe that in line with the results of our previous studies and drawing on the data analysis presented here, we have been able to convincingly demonstrate the most fundamental connections of the theory developed. This may inspire research on private religiosity and public religion that takes more strongly into account aspects of collective identity in Central and Eastern Europe.

Released: Replika 127, 131–147.
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