To many Christians, Hungary serves as a positive example of Christians leadership in the world. Even though Viktor Orban was terrible on Covid, he is the best example of a “Christian Prince” we have today, as Stephen Wolfe pointed out. Hungary is perhaps the most despised NATO nation among liberals. And it makes sense that liberals would hate a nation that rejects homosexuality and open borders.
In the interview that Viktor Orban had with Tucker Carlson, Orban critiqued radical individualism and liberalism. I would add that radical individualism has eroded individual liberty as their is no social fabric to repel liberalism in our society. In Hungary they have a calling to family, country, and God. As as I noted at the time, Orban believes that Hungary preserving its race is a good thing, yet Mid Eva assures us that this is Kinism.
Despite Orban being a positive representation of Christian Nationalism, a Christian Prince, in a hostile European continent, Hungary still has extremely low religiosity. The church attendance of Hungary is low. The professing believers is low. Detractors would call this a failure for Christian Nationalism; however, this is a win for Christian Nationalism. Christianity has an outsized influence in the nation of Hungary.
Persecution Fetish
The Anti-Christian Nationalists read Roman history as the church thriving under persecution, which ignores how dramatically church expanded post Milvian Bridge. And they use this to suggest that the church automatically thrives under persecution in the area in which they are being persecuted. But this isn’t true, and the rise of communism in Europe is evidence of this. Hungary was brutally occupied by the Soviet Union who persecuted the church. It was not until 1990 that the churches in Hungary regained autonomy. As a consequence of this persecution, the religiosity of Hungary is considerably low, as is that of many post-communist European nations.
Yet the rise of Viktor Orban seems to signal a revival in the country, not just of Christianity but of cultural identity. Just as we see in the Bible, good kings were a reflection of national revival, and evil rulers were a reflection of judgement. God works both top down and bottom up, and Christian Nationalism provides a framework for how Christian rulers should govern, something that Christians have long believed.
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