In our research we have applied sociological methods in the investi gati on of the Croati an minority communiti es, of their values or scope of acti ons and their identi ty preservati on methods in the 21st century. As an interesti ng fact of the research, in Vas County communiti es we have found identi fi cati on and diff erenti ati on in and between classical and cultural nati on percepti on. We have investi gated the approach of identi fi cati on and as a result we can state that nati onal symbols are important elements of identi fi cati on. There are associati onal symbols originated from the nati onal past in the communiti es’ collecti ve mind (like fl ag, coat of arms, crown, and anthem). In the aspect of belonging to Hungarians, these dimensions appeared again in the research, but in this evaluati on the abstract concepts are too strong (for example: identi ty, cultural awareness). There was no signifi cant diff erence regarding the judgment criteria as regards who belongs to Croati an or Hungarian communiti es. Belonging to Croati an communiti es is realised by less perceivable abstracti ons.
Beyond the cultural nati on concept, belonging to Hungarians’ natural elements are the form and traditi on (border, ‘I was born in Hungary’, nati onality).
These parameters fi t bett er into the state nati on percepti on. These traditi ons are stronger presented among senior citi zens and under-educated populati on.