Possible state involvement in the protection of Christian culture in Hungary

Abstract

In 2018, the seventh amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary added a provision to Article R), according to which the protection of the constitutional identity and Christian culture of Hungary shall be an obligation of every organ of the State. The Christian heritage is reflected in several points of the Fundamental Law, while Article R(4) requires state bodies to act. The study will examine, as a kind of thought experiment, the importance of culture for the state and society and, in this context, the areas in which the state can act as a protector of Christian culture. It also discusses the content of this protection and the objectives that can be derived from the formulation of this obligation, stressing that the state also has a responsibility towards society to detect, become aware of and, if necessary (and able), influence the slow processes that influence and, in some cases, erode culture – or, on the contrary, change with it.