Illiberal modernity and non- state actor agency: the Hungarian Reformed Church’s role in contemporary Hungary

Abstract

How has the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) participated in redefining “modernity” and democracy under Hungary’s illiberal regime led by Viktor Orbán? This study investigates the RCH as an active non-state actor supporting state projects in an illiberal democracy. Drawing on Péter Marton’s theory of non-state actors (NSAs), the analysis focuses on the Church’s agency. Empirically, the HRC exhibits strategic institutional unity and initiative in both national politics and specialized domains (education, social services, and the diaspora), functioning in mutually beneficial partnership with the state. As successive governments under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have sought to recast liberal democracy into a “Christian” illiberal model, the RCH’s historical experiences and theological convictions have aligned to provide resources, legitimacy, and normative frames for this project. The findings show that the RCH, bolstered by Neo-Calvinist thought, has co-governed certain public functions and symbols with the state, thereby actively shaping an illiberal modernity. The article concludes that the RCH served neither as a mere proxy of the state nor as an entirely independent actor. Rather, it behaved as a strategic partner whose involvement illustrates how a church can bolster an illiberal regime’s redefinition of democracy while retaining a measure of distinct agency.