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LECTORI SALUTEM!
——o—
This volume contains the edited papers of an international conference organ¬
ised by the Faculty of Humanities of Käroli Gäspär University ofthe Reformed
Church in Hungary as a program of The Day of Hungarian Science on 29-30
November 2012. In addition to the customary objective of recording and dis¬
seminating the results of an event involving scholars from various countries,
this publication is meant to contribute to the aims ofa series of workshops and
conferences, as well as commemorative events, organised under the auspices
of Refo500.
This conference was about Protestantism, knowledge and the world of science
and covered religious, cultural and social developments from the sixteenth to
the twentieth century. It is essential to be aware of the moral foundation of
convictions and practices, for knowledge of the tradition of the Reformation
can be very helpful to understand fundamental social, intellectual as well as
spiritual changes of early modern Europe.
Then, nineteenth century Europe was undoubtedly influenced by the French
Revolution and the huge impact of the Industrial Revolution, both with very
problematic social consequences. The twentieth century showed a fundamen¬
tal increase of the role of government, and the Second World War led to the
concept of the welfare state. Now in the twenty-first century, people see the
necessity to think, talk and act in terms of values. The financial crisis of 2008
was not only a financial crisis, it was in its essence a moral one. Consequently,
private companies do seem to understand more and more that they have to
deliver value. The original concept of the nation-state is fading away and being
replaced by new public-private alliances, and people are beginning to under¬
stand and accept that it is necessary for them to seek to find long term solutions.
These choices are all connected with the role of values. Sustainability is one
of them. Other values are stewardship, public justice, responsibility, solidarity.
The key question of this century will be how to combine new views, insights,
7.