In the year marking the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mohács (1526), the Centre for Protestant Studies Gáspár Károli organises its Fourth International Annual Conference – KÁROLI FORUM MMXXVI, to be held in Subotica (Serbia) on 6 June 2026. The topic of this year’s conference is RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY BEYOND MOHÁCS: Coexistence of Peoples in the Shadow of the Ottoman Conquest – in the Past and in Cultural Memory.
The 2026 Károli Forum draws attention to a historical turning point that not only brought about the military and political collapse of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, but also fundamentally reshaped the cultural, social, and religious landscape of Central and East-Central Europe. As a result of wars, migration, imperial governance, and later post-Ottoman settlement processes, long-established Slavic, Hungarian, Romanian, German, and other communities experienced profound transformations in terms of demographic balance, legal status, and confessional affiliation, leading to the emergence of a lasting mosaic of peoples and religions.
Within this fragmented and constantly shifting political environment, the teachings of the Reformation spread with remarkable speed and became closely intertwined with the ethnic composition, social structures, political interests, and cultural traditions of the regions concerned. The coexistence of Catholic, Protestant (Lutheran, Reformed, Unitarian), various Orthodox, and Islamic religious presences was not merely a source of conflict; in many cases it also gave rise, at the level of everyday practice, to strategies of coexistence, pragmatic compromises, and distinctive forms of religious and social interaction. The Forum welcomes contributions that examine how these transformations and their long-term consequences shaped enduring patterns of religious and cultural diversity, both as historical realities and as elements of cultural memory.
The Centre for Protestant Studies Gáspár Károli invites scholars from the humanities and related disciplines to submit paper proposals for its annual Károli Forum MMXXVI. In addition to historical analysis, contributions from cultural studies, law, anthropology, sociology, ethnography, memory studies, philosophy, political thought, and related fields are equally welcome. By addressing both historical realities and their subsequent representations, the Forum seeks to illuminate the enduring relevance of early modern patterns of coexistence, conflict, and accommodation for understanding religious and cultural diversity today.
In accordance with the organiser’s research programme policy, particular attention will be given to papers addressing the region of Vojvodina. Accordingly, contributions are welcome in English, Hungarian, and Serbian, as well as in any of the official languages of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Croatian, Romanian, Slovak, or Ruthenian).
Submissions should be made via the organiser’s online submission form.
Abstract submission deadline: 10 March 2026
Each accepted paper will be published as a separate, peer-reviewed volume in the annual Conference Proceedings series. The online editions of the previous Károli Forum conference proceedings can be found in the organiser’s Institutional Repository.
For full conference information, thematic details, and submission guidelines, please visit the KÁROLI FORUM MMXXVI – Event Page or contact the organisers.
