„Changing world, changing church?” – was the title of a round-table discussion organized by Scruton in the Mathias Corvinus Collegium building in New Buda. Three religious leaders, Roman Catholic Archbishop György Udvardy of Veszprém, Bishop Dániel Pásztor of the Reformed Church, and Chief Rabbi of the EMIH Shlomo Köves discussed the question of whether religious institutions should, should not or even must respond to the changing world and, if so, in what way. The discussion was moderated by Tünde Wolf-Nagy.
The round-table discussion focused on a number of unconventional but certainly important themes, all of which dealt with the church’s response to a changing world. The three religious leaders gave divergent views right from the opening question. According to Dániel Pásztor, a church is not an organization in the classical sense, which has to adapt to the community, but a „communion of saints,” which is inherently „not man’s, but God’s” and therefore does not have to, and even should not, adapt to the current zeitgeist.
György Udvardy saw the question somewhat differently; according to him, there are situations and issues in which a church must change in relation to the given time and spirit of the age, but as a point of reference it must represent constancy in certain issues.
Shlomo Köves pointed out that since antiquity there has been no centralized religious entity in the Jewish religion, so it is not an institution but a set of rules and rituals.
As such, its essence is change itself, since the „role of a religion” is to point out what part of divine revelation is immutable and what must change with time.
The roundtable also discussed the communication strategy of religion and the question of how to address the young generation, with the three religious leaders sharing similar views. György Udvardy said that reaching out to young people has always been an important issue for the church; the Archbishop said it was important to „dare to ask questions and dare to listen to the answers.” Pásztor Dániel drew attention to the fact that
„the message of the entrustor (i.e., God)” must be delivered, while stressing that digital tools should not replace face-to-face communication: „The personal word, the personal encounter still has and will have its power.”
Rabbi Shlomo Köves, when asked by the moderator what motivates his organization to often use unconventional and very creative forms of communication, replied that
„adaptation is deeply rooted in Jewish philosophy.”
He then recalled the story of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, who lived in the first century of the Common Era, during the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and who, according to the Talmud, when he had the opportunity, did not ask the Roman governor for anything he knew he could not have. Rather, he „asked for Yavneh,” that is, he focused on spiritual survival, recognizing that it was not only the physical location that was important, but also the creation of a virtual spiritual center.
Reflecting on the role of social media, Rabbi Köves argued that the question for religious leaders is not just whether they respond, but also to make sure the right questions are being asked. „After all, for centuries,” the EMIH’s chief rabbi argued,
„authority was in the hands of the clergy; today, it is not only the person of authority that is being questioned, but also the concept of authority. People today are also turning to false prophets, to Greta Thurnberg or Kim Kardashian. It’s the job of religious leaders not to be afraid to step out of safe safe spaces and help people ask the important questions, or even provoke the question.”
On the question of whether religious organizations should be allowed to engage in politics, György Udvardy was the first to express his opinion, pointing out that their task is „to use everything for the glory of God. A church should and can only intervene from the side of doctrine since this is where divine objectivity and mission also appear,” the Archbishop argued, adding that religious entities
„can in this way guarantee their ability to preserve dignity, freedom and justice.”
On the subject of politics, Dániel Pásztor pointed out that „the church stands accused when it speaks on the subject and when it fails to as well. The church does not directly engage in politics, but at the same time all its members are homo politicus,” argued the bishop, who said that „the church fulfills a divine mission, but there is also power in silence. On issues such as homosexuality, the church cannot remain silent and must speak out.”
At the end of the evening, important questions were asked from the audience, such as what religious leaders think about the opposition between science and religion, whether they plan to rewrite the Bible for today, what they think about homosexuality, or where can God enter into the lives of people today, what can God answer that others, such as professionals, cannot?
Pastor Daniel said that of course there are no plans to rewrite the Bible and that his church does not feel that „science and religion are in conflict.” The Reformed bishop said that „true scientists do not question God.” On homosexuality, he said that it goes against the divine plan of creation, „but at the same time we want to heal the person as a person, but we cannot accept and identify with him.” He said that people should first turn to God and only then to a doctor or psychologist. „The doctor or psychologist is a tool for healing, which ultimately comes from God.”
According to Rabbi Köves, „It is naive to only turn to God when there is no cure, as even though medicine exists, there is no eternal life and people still suffer.” Moreover, according to the chief rabbi, „there is suffering not only from scarcity but also from abundance,” and the job of religion is „not to alleviate suffering but to show that we are not in this world indefinitely.”
„Religion,” said Rabbi Köves, „is not opposed to science, but to scientism.” Science „answers the how, religion the why.”
– said the EMIH’s chief rabbi, who said that „the Bible forbids many other sexual relations besides homosexuality, including adultery, but the common denominator is that both are human temptations.”
„There is a reason why sexuality is such a central theme: It is an elementary part of human existence, it touches the deepest layers of our souls, so it is worth thinking about what makes sexuality dignified, but at the same time you must not despise the other person.”
– said Köves.
According to Archbishop György Udvardy, „only in religion, only in God, can man interpret himself, his own existence, and this gives us the intimate relationship we long for.”
According to the Catholic leader, the problem is that „nowadays, the essential relationship with God is disappearing, and man thus becomes lonely.”
