Zsidó betérések a protestáns felekezetekbe Pesten, 1895 előtt
Jewish conversion in the Protestant churches of Pest before 1895

Summary/Abstract: Jewish conversion in the Hungarian capital during the nineteenth century has been a totally neglected topic so far in Hungarian historiography. The present article is based on the birth records of the three most important (Lutheran, Calvinist and Unitarian) Protestant congregations of the territory that is now Budapest – the only possible sources of such an undertaking. Having gone through all the entries of the mentioned birth records, the author gives the total number of Jews converted in those congregations; an evaluation of the Pest conversions in quantitative terms placed in a European context; and the analysis of possible motivations of the converts. According to the author, the volume of Jewish conversion was similar to other European urban centers such as Vienna, Berlin, Prague and Warsaw. Just like in Vienna, the number of conversions started to rise after the 1860’s, even if it never exceeded the numbers that were characteristic to fi n de siécle Vienna. One has to keep in mind, however, that the number and ratio of those who converted to Roman Catholicism is still unknown, and might change the picture to some extent. There are three major waves of Jewish conversion identifi able during the nineteenth century, all of diff erent nature. During the early 1840’s, the activity of the so-called Scottish mission produced a sudden increase in the number of conversions. Reaction to the outbursts of anti-Jewish feelings on the one hand, but a very visible willingness to join the Hungarian revolution on the other hand, seems to be behind the next wave of baptisms in 1848–49. The third apparent increase appears concurrently with the anti-Semitic wave of the early 1880’s, however, a closer look at the converts show a remarkable correlation between baptism and contracting marriage with a Christian party.

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