Protestant Ethics in the Kingdom of Hungary in the Eighteenth Century : New Perspectives on the Interpretation of Economics in the Reformed Church

Hegyi, Ádám Alex (2026) Protestant Ethics in the Kingdom of Hungary in the Eighteenth Century : New Perspectives on the Interpretation of Economics in the Reformed Church. STUDIA HISTORICA NITRIENSIA, 30 (1). pp. 57-72. ISSN 1338-7219

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Abstract

According to Max Weber‘s theory, Protestant ethics significantly contributed to the development of capitalism. Historians agree that a capitalist economy did not emerge in the Kingdom of Hungary in the early modern period. However, Calvinism and puritanism had a strong influence in the country, and a Protestant ethic similar to that of Western Europe developed in the Reformed Church. This study aims to contribute to existing research in the history of ideas and economic history by incorporating new sources. Researchers have not yet examined the works of Benjámin Szőnyi or manuscript chronicles. Nor have they examined church building applications, church accounts, or János Fábián‘s catechism. With the help of these sources, the study conducts a further examination of Weber‘s theory in the 18th-century Kingdom of Hungary. It concludes that Protestant ethics did indeed exist in the Kingdom of Hungary, but that it was unable to transform the feudal economy into a capitalist one.

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