Catholicism remains the predominant religion in Austria. Luxurious churches, shrines, monasteries and cathedrals are found everywhere. For example, St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna can be called especially beautiful.
Moreover, Vienna has been the capital of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries. With the advent of Martin Luther, many people have changed their views. Most of the citizens became Protestants.
Freedom of choice
According to Austrian law, namely the Law on Religious Education of Children, everyone can freely choose their religion. This means:
- Every citizen is allowed to believe in what he sees fit.
- From the age of 14, anyone can decide for themselves which religion they want to belong to.
- Everyone has the freedom not to belong to any religion.
- No one should be prosecuted or harmed for their faith decision.
- You are allowed to change your religion.
- Church and Stateseparated.
Religious education in schools is not limited to Catholic confession. Children belonging to other churches and religious groups are educated in their own denomination. Their teachers are paid by the state. Further more detailed information about religion and its role in Austria, as well as the main groups.
Catholicism
Despite the fact that Catholicism professes a large part of the population, the influence of the church in everyday life is declining. People seek spiritual guidance in other faiths. Many give up religion when they reach maturity because of the church tax. It is equal to 1.1% of the total annual salary. Around the world, the church has been criticized for its conservative stance on topics such as emancipation or homosexuality, which increases the desire of young people to leave the group. However, religion still plays a big role in Austria.
Protestantism
There are two forms of Protestantism in the Republic of Austria. The Lutherans follow the Augsburg Confession, while the Reformers follow the Helvetic Confession. In general, Protestants are 4% of the population. Moreover, the main part belongs to the Lutheran Church.
Islam
Austria was the first Western country to recognize Muslims as a religious community in 1912, as stated in the "Law of Recognition". Islamic culture has been deeply rooted in Vienna over the centuries, first through the war with Turkey in the late 18th century and then with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
To combat radical Islam, a bill has been introduced that prohibits foreign sponsorship of mosques, the payment of salaries to imams, and also regulates versions of the Koran. The Islamic mosque was built in 1975 and is located in the 21st district in Vienna. It has a minaret 32 meters high.
Judaism
Before the Holocaust, there was an important and influential Jewish community here, which included Theodor Herzl, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Arthur Schnitzler and Stefan Zweig. Many Jews left the country after it was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. But over 65,000 were deported and killed. Today's Jewish group is represented by the Federation of Austrian Jewish Communities and the Austrian branch of the World Jewish Congress. Judaism currently has about 7,000 members in Vienna.
The vast majority of the current Jewish population are post-war immigrants, especially from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (including the Jews of Bukhara).
Buddhism
Buddhism was officially recognized as a religion in 1983. As in most multicultural cities, there are various religious schools in the capital. Vienna is the center of the Buddhist community and has about 10,000 followers.
Which religion prevails in Austria?
At the end of the 20th century, about 74% of the population were registered as Catholics, and about 5% identified themselves as Protestants. In recent decades, Catholicism, the main religion of the country, has been gradually reduced. In Austria, as of January 2011, the proportion of Catholicswas already 64.1%, and Protestants - 3.8%.
Catholics are required to pay their church a mandatory membership fee (calculated on income - about 1%). This payment is called the "Church Contribution." In 2001, about 12% of the population said they had no religion.
Austria has about 340,000 registered members of various Muslim communities, mainly due to immigrants from Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. About 180,000 people are members of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (mostly Serbs), more than 20,000 are active Jehovah's Witnesses, and about 8,100 are Jews. Approximately 10% of residents consider themselves atheists.
