Religions and Churches in a Common Europe [antikvár]

Introduction János Wildmann With the support of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (Hungarian abbreviation: OTKA) the sociology of religion research project "Religions and Churches in a Common Europe" was conducted in Hungary in 2006-2009. The aim of the Working Group, based at the University of Pécs, was to ascertain, after Hungary's accession to the European Union {2004), the basic attitudes especially of religious people to Europe and the European Union, as well as what religion and the church mean to them under the historic new circumstances. The detailed report on this representative survey has already appeared in Hungarian.^ Although this research project was restricted to Hungary, it was an explicit goal of the research group to link up its work with similar European projects. This took place primarily through cooperation with the Network for the Study of Religious Innovation and Pluralism in Contemporary Europe (RIPE). Other European scholars also showed an interest in cooperation, but they pursued their own research interests and goals, and had their own methods. However, there was a conference at which all participants were able to present their results. It took place in Pécs in 2009. The present volume gathers together most of the presentations given at the Pécs conference. The reader will appreciate that in this book only the basic framework - Religions and Churches in a Common Europe - is given (only one study extends its considerations beyond Europe, taking in also the USA), but the studies are complex. It is not a thematic, but rather a diverse volume. Readers are offered an opportunity to look briefly at the results of various research efforts. For a deeper insight, the respective research reports must be examined. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the authors for their active participation in the project and for their contribution. Particular thanks are due to the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund, which also funded the publication of this volume, as well as to the RIPE Network, especially its former chairman, Professor Viggo Mortensen, and its new head. Professor Marco Ricceri, who did so much to promote international cooperation, championed the conference in Pécs and supported the publication of this book. Márta Korpics and János Wildmann: Vallások és egyházak az egyesült Európában. Magyarország (Religions and Churches in a Common Europe. Hungary), Budapest: Typotex, 2010.