Koloh: Református lelkészi mobilitás a Dunamelléki Egyházkerületben a két világháború között

The Mobility of Reformed Clergy in the Danubian Church District Between the Two World Wars

Abstract

The study examines the pathways of social mobility through an analysis of the occupations of the fathers and, where applicable, fathers-in-law of Reformed clergy, and then looks at the emergence of female teachers, which shaped prevailing trends at the time. The first part of the study, focusing on the Danubian Church District, confirms the phenomenon observed elsewhere: during the interwar period, the proportion of second-generation clergymen diminished. This decrease can be explained not only by the growing disillusionment of first-generation clergy but also by their deteriorating living conditions. The analysis of the occupations of their fathers and fathers-in-law concluded that more than a third of clergymen became sons-in-law to men from their own or a similar social group, and for about 20-25% of them marriage resulted in upward mobility from their original social layer. However, the multi-generational examination also reveals that a larger part of the village clergy came from insular environments, which affected the extent of their social involvement within their small communities.