Consideraţii istorico-geodemografice asupra catolicismului din România în perioada 1930-2002 Historical and geo-demographical discussions on the Catholicism in Romania between 1930-2002 Section Articles

Abstract

The catholic religion, the second denomination in Romania after the orthodox one from the demographic point of view, penetrated the Romanian territory thought Transylvania, which once conquered by Hungarians (X-XII Centuries), had been organized as an independent voivodeship inside of the Romano-catholic Austro-Hungarian Empire. Later, under the impulse of the Court of Vienna (the Principality of Transylvania was at the end of the XVIIIth Century under Hapsburg domination), some of the Romanians from Ardeal adhered to the Roman Church, founding the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic. After the Proclamation of Union from 1st of December 1918, the Greco-catholic religion penetrated through the Romanians from Ardeal to the South and East of the Carpathian Mountains, where they founded local communities. In 1930 the catholic population from Romania was counting 2.661.542 persons (1.234.151 Romano Catholics, most of them Hungarians and 1.427.391 Greco Catholics, most of them Romanians). The majority were living in Transylvania (1.414.751 persons), Crişana-Maramureş (562.937) and Banat (355.063). Romano Catholics were mostly inhabiting in Ciuc (81,3%), Timis-Torontal (48,6%), Trei Scaune (36,1%), Odorhei (34,6%) şi Arad (26,5%), while the Greco Catholics in Maramureş (64,4%), Someş (63,5%), Năsăud (60,2%), Satu Mare (59%), Sălaj (52,6%), Cluj (42,7%), Turda (42,3%), Târnava Mica (40,7%), Mureş (32,4%) şi Alba (31,6%). In 1948 the Greco-Catholic Church had been dissolved by the communist govern and most of its believers had been obliged to adhere to the Romanian Orthodox Church. After the Revolution from 1989 this institution has been reinstored, part of the Romanians rejoining the old religion. At the census from 1992 the number of the Catholics from Romania was 1.385.269; 1.161.942 of them were Romano Catholics and 223.327 were Greco Catholics. In 1930 most of them were living in Transylvania, Crişana and Banat counties. While during the following years no significant changes have been registered in territorial repartition, until 2002 a slightly diminution have been noticed, the catholic population reaching 1.223.882 persons. This diminution, influenced as well by the migrations of German population from Banat (mostly Romano Catholics) aligned to the general evolution of the population from Romania.