Living on the Borderlines of Europe

Where do the fundamental traits of the different European cultures come from?

The dotted lines on the map of Europe are in many cases the product of historical accident: primarily acts of violence, but also dynastic marriages or sheer happenstance. Still, our frontiers rarely conform to the cultural realities.

You may find strikingly different social cultures even within countries, and you will find cultures, that cross frontiers – the Hungarian culture is one example. We will see how religious factors in History fundamentally influenced our culture.

The great borderlines in Europe:

• The East-West Divide
• The Island-Continent Divide
• The South-North Incline

These lines divide Europe to three different parts:

• A Catholic Southern,
• an Orthodox Eastern, and
• a Protestant Northern culture.

I. The East-West Divide - Individualists and Collectivists

For long before the cold war period, Europe was divided into two parts, the West and East. Historically, religion has shaped the European way of life and thinking so strongly, that even today we can see the cultural and historical dividing line between the Roman and the Byzantine Empires.

The “WEST”

Western European countries and North-America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and CEE countries of: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia

Main historical influence: the Church of Rome

Values, Behavior, Thinking:

• Separation of spiritual and worldly power – between church and state.
• Papacy in Rome exercises authority over the Catholics.
• Individualism (only 5% of the world’s population)
• Goal and issue-orientation
• Everyone is expected to look after himself and his immediate family only.
• Short term relationships can be valuable.
• Low power-distance in society
• Relatively little social inequality.
• Approaching truth: analytical, wants to break down teaching into systematic categories and fit doctrines neatly into this system of theology, solve problems.
• Religion: the goal of Christian life is service to the Church (Roman Catholics) or the knowledge of God (Protestants). Salvation is by faith alone. God Himself gives us moral perfection.
• Work and Productivity: sow-reap mentality (invest well, expect results)
• Values: Self-esteem, doing (action)
• Individualism, Short-term - orientation
• Self: We are valuable (since Christ laid down his own life for us).
• Taking pride in our abilities and work.

The “EAST”

Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, the Ukraine, Belorus, Russia, Serbia

Main historical influence: The Eastern Orthodox Church

Values, Behavior, Thinking:

• Spiritual and political power was in one hand
• Powerful social organization, associated with state authority (nation-states)
• Heavy in ritual and collective worship but largely devoid of dogma
• The various national churches fashion their beliefs
• Churches are more susceptible the pressure of national state leaders (accentuated under communist rule).
• Collectivism
• Relationship-oriented values
• Strong sense of community
• People from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout their lifetime continue to protect them.
• Relationships are expected to be long term.
• Strong acceptance of hierarchy and authoritarianism
• Less powerful members of institutions expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
• Approaching truth: concerned about the overall, not the parts; more relational and familial; comfortable with paradox and mystery.
• Religion: Ascetic faith.
• The goal of Christian life is moral perfection, that is gained by: intensive effort, inner struggle, deprivations, self-humiliation, gradual mortification of passions
• The followers of Christ must bear a cross of suffering, and they would be continually persecuted.
• Work and Productivity: The goal of work is not to make all the money they can.
• Values: Humbleness, being
• Collectivism, long-term orientation
• Self: We are great sinners and should be grateful when we are persecuted and cast out.
• Pride is a demonic sin.

The bulk of those former soviet bloc countries which became accepted in the the EU first, belonged historically to the Western sphere of influence; Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia were all influenced by the Church of Rome (and not by the Eastern-Orthodox Church).

HISTORY

It all started when the Roman Empire was divided into two for administrative reasons in AD 395. Subsequently, the two Christian churches - Rome and Constantinople - went their separate ways, leading to a complete break up in the year 1028, when the two Popes mutually excommunicated one other. It was a dispute between the papacy and Eastern Christian patriarchs over the question of whether Rome was to have primacy (as the Orthodox saw it) or supremacy over all Christendom (in the Catholic view) that led to a schism between East and West in 1054. By this time the Eastern Church had matured into a powerful social organization associated with state authority, heavy in ritual and collective worship, but largely devoid of dogma.

The gulf between Eastern and Western Christendom deepened as a consequence of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, which placed most Slavic Christendom under Islamic rule.

Christianity in the Western part of Europe developed itself in a different way from the Eastern part of Europe. In the West, the Church of Rome became the integrating force, but the center of political power moved to the north. This led at least to a distance between spiritual and worldly power, between pope and emperor, a distance that manifested in a dualism of spiritual and political life. This dualism of spiritual and political life was almost unknown in the East.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Many of the people to the West of this dividing line are - together with the North Americans, the Australians, the New Zealanders and the South Africans - members of a global minority: the individualist, issue-oriented folk who make up perhaps no more than five per cent of the world’s population.

The people to the East of the divide are collectivist in spirit and relationship-oriented.

Hungary is slightly individualistic. On the scale of 100, Hungary scores 55 in individualism. The USA 91, Britain 89, Switzerland 68, and Germany scales 67.

Power Distance

The people in the Orthodox countries developed a very strong sense of community and also an equally strong acceptance of hierarchy and authoritarianism.

Western Europeans, who were influenced by the Church of Rome, have less hierarchy and show low power distance indexes.

Hungary has a mildly low power distance index. On the scale of 100, Hungary’s index of power distance is 45. The USA 40, Britain 35, Switzerland 34, and Germany scales 35.

II. The Island-Continent Divide – Different Attitudes to the Unknown

ANGLO-SAXON CULTURES

Britain and Ireland (and these are the determining historical roots also of North-America, Australia and New Zealand)

Main historical influences: No common civil law until the 13th century; Magna Charta in England (1215) – a practical and short list; The English have been free from invaders and occupiers for nearly 1,000 years!

Values, Behavior, Thinking:

• Low level of bureaucracy
• Laid-back and practical approach to life
• Democracy means newcomers should melt
• Better tolerance of uncertainty
• ‘Different is curious.’
• The cradle of North-American Culture, the English / Irish approach to life is relatively laid-back, and they have a significantly higher tolerance of ambiguity.

Uncertainty avoidance indexes in island countries: Ireland 35, Britain 35, United States 46

CONTINENTAL CULTURES

Main historical influence: The Roman Law (the ‘Civil Code’), which applies in most Continental countries (including Hungary) in one form or another, and even applies in Scotland. Roman Law is the common foundation upon which the European legal order is built. Therefore, it serves as a source of rules and legal norms, which blends with the national laws of the many and varied European states.

Values, Behavior, Thinking:

• Continentals tend to be ‘regulatory-minded’.
• Prefer keeping national identities.
• Stronger avoidance of uncertainty
• Over time, society became organized and regulated to the extent that people felt insecure if they couldn’t find the answer to a situation ‘in the book’.
• ‘Different is dangerous.’
• Continental people don’t like uncertainty and try avoid it, when they can.

Uncertainty avoidance indexes in continental countries: Austria 70, Switzerland 58, Germany 65, France 86, Spain 86, Italy 75, Hungary 83, Poland 78, Czech Republic 60.

III. The South-North Incline – protestant vs. catholic

NORTHERN / PROTESTANT CULTURES

Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, Luxembourg and Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Norway

Main historical influence: Protestantism. Protestant Christians believe in a direct relationship with God - they are alone with their conscience and personally responsible for their acts before God. Protestant believers interpret truth (the Bible) individually, according to their own conscience. Different Protestant churches co-exist, each with its own individual characteristics.

Values, Behavior, Thinking:

• Power is not God-given.
• “Rule of the people by the people” - the basic principle of the democratic process.
• Clear-cut, well expressed, universally held (Germany)
• The law is for you, keep it.
• Values tend to be work-related: accountability, transparency, reliability, integrity.
• Emphasis on “protestant” work-ethics.
• Few people live with their parents.
• Women have children later.
• Few elderly people live with their children - and if they do, it is often with an unmarried daughter.
• More spending on the Government
• Prompt payers in business
• High transparency in business

Luxembourg tops the list (value: administrative zeal) Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, France, Ireland, Poland, Hungary

SOUTHERN / CATHOLIC CULTURES

Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, France, Ireland, Poland, Hungary

Reformation - Counter-reformation

Main historical influence: Roman Catholicism. People had been taught that they cannot reach God directly, and that they were dependent on a priest to be pardoned for their sins by confession. All truth comes from God through the Pope and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and all power passed from above. There is one universal Catholic church. There is a submissive attitude towards the hierarchy and dogma.

Values, Behavior, Thinking:

• Power and privileges are God-given (therefore unchallengeable) and flow down from the top of the pyramid.
• 18th century Spanish Absolutist Catholicism set the table for all the caudillos, dictators and juntas that plagued all of the ex-Spanish colonies.
• Laws are, “confusing, bureaucratic, impossible”
• Higher level of corruption
• Circumvent the law if “needed” (Italy)
• Ingenuity is a value
• Relationship-oriented values: faithfulness, loyalty, sharing, caring, helping
• Emphasis on family
• Anti-abortion
• Young men and women live with their parents until they get married; and they have children soon after that.
• Up to half of elderly people live in the same household as one of their children - often their married sons.
• Help with child care is by the ‘younger old’; help with personal care is received by the ‘older old’.
• Spending less on the Government
• Slower payers in business
• Low transparency in business
• Reluctant of publishing details
• These countries are generally poorer than the northern ones.

Main source: Richard Hill, We Europeans, 1998

cultural divides, east-west, island-continent, south-north, Europe, individualism, power distance, south-north, uncertainty avoidance