Paper short abstract:

In my paper I will list Hungarian institutions, individuals that have contributed these questions and I will show some new religious phenomena emerging recently. My question is whether the ideologically nonbiased, free scholarship can explain all questions of religious phenomena?

Paper long abstract:

Religious Studies in Middle-Europe 30 years after the Political Turn

After the political turn in 1990 there was a huge expectation both on scientific as well as on social level. After the collapse of Communism scholars of religion have started to redefine what religion is and relocate their position free from ideological and theological concerns. In my paper I will list Hungarian institutions (and names of outstanding scholars of religion) that have contributed these questions and I will show some new religious phenomena emerging recently. My question is whether the ideologically nonbiased, free scholarship can explain all questions of new religious phenomena? I will answer this question by the help of some concrete examples.

The paper will include historical as well as purely systematical approaches with a special emphasis on the relation of religions and sciences.