ABSTRACT
I begin my discussion with the example of Hungary, not just because this presentation is being given in its Houses of Parliament, but because it is a country in the centre of Europe illustrating most of the major themes of this chapter, and very much in the middle range according to recent statistical enquiries into European religion. My most important single theme is the individualization of contemporary spirituality as compared with the more organic ethical communities of Catholicism and Protestantism. The latter retain institutional links with the state or, at least, have a recognized presence in the public square, whereas contemporary spirituality does not. Instead it generates diffuse moral passion directed against capitalism, the state, or whatever. It has no permanent representatives to promote a view, no corporate ethical discipline and little interest in self-discipline. It is an extreme version of Protestant inwardness often mixed with an antinomian dislike of rules and authority.
