Piarists and the Secularisation of Political Thought in late 18th Century Hungary
Piarists and the Secularisation of Political Thought in late 18th Century Hungary

Summary/Abstract: The era of Josephinism was also linked to the transformation of political thought in the Kingdom of Hungary. The centralisation of the administrative structure of the estates and the social reforms enabled a wider circle of intellectuals of bourgeois and peasant origin to enter civil service, who had been completely excluded from the higher levels of political life in the previous century. They understandably brought a new approach to political participation, and to the question of the legitimisation of state power. On the other hand, the old political participants reacted to the new circumstances as well and formulated their – often critical – opinions on the changed situation. Interestingly, in the latter group of opinions we also find those who rejected Emperor Joseph II's reform measures and attempted to defend the re-establishment of the old corporative order with the armoury of ‘modern’ political thought constructs. In my paper, I would like to focus on those Catholic clerics, members of the Piarist order, who, despite their education and ecclesiastical commitment, followed the spirit of the times in their written statements and formulated their political opinions with the help of secular arguments. Their political activity can also be understood in the context of a larger intellectual movement, namely the Catholic Enlightenment. Such political writings had already been produced during the reign of Joseph II. However, after the death of the ruler, his successor Leopold II convened the parliament of estates in Buda on 6 June 1790 after 25 years intermission. This political event provoked a flood of political pamphlets as well as more thorough works, some of which can also be interpreted as drafts of constitution.

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