Religion in Austria
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is predominant. According to the 2001 census, 73.6% of the country's population adhered to this denomination. , the most recent year for which figures are available, the number of Catholics is about 66 % of the population. There is a much smaller group of Lutherans
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, totaling about 4.7% of the population in 2001. Since the 2001 census these two largest religious groups in Austria recorded losses in the number of adherents. The Roman Catholic Church reported a drop of more than 200,000 adherents or 5% of the total Austrian population, while the Lutheran church reported a drop of 50,000 adherents and now represents less than 4 % of the Austrian population.
In contrast, the number of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in Austria has increased in recent years, and with 4.2% of the population calling themselves Muslim, Muslims overtook Lutherans as the second largest religious group. There are also minor communities of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s, Sikhs, Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
s and Jews in Austria.
History
Austria was greatly affected by the Protestant reformation, to the point a majority of the population became Protestant. The prominent position of the HabsburgHabsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
s in the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
, however, saw Protestantism all but wiped out, restoring Catholicism as the dominant religion once more. The significant Jewish population (around 200,000 in 1938), mainly residing in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, was reduced to just a couple of thousand through mass emigration in 1938 (more than 2/3 of the Jewish population emigrated from 1938 until 1941), and the following Holocaust during the Nazi regime. Immigration in more recent years, primarily from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, has led to an increased number of Muslims and Serbian Orthodox
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
Christians.
Changes in church adherence and attendance
| Main Denominations in Austria |
|||||||
| year | population | Catholics | % | Lutherans | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 6,933,905 | 6,170,084 | 89.0 % | 429,493 | 6.2% | ||
| 1961 | 7,073,807 | 6,295,075 | 89.0 % | 438,663 | 6.2% | ||
| 1971 | 7,491,526 | 6,548,316 | 87.4 % | 447,070 | 6,0% | ||
| 1981 | 7,555,338 | 6,372,645 | 84.3 % | 423,162 | 5,6% | ||
| 1991 | 7,795,786 | 6,081,454 | 78.0 % | 338,709 | 5.0% | ||
| 2001 | 8,032,926 | 5,915,421 | 73.6 % | 376,150 | 4.7% | ||
| 2005 | 8,250,000 | 5,662,782 | 68.5 % | - | - | ||
| 2008 | 8,350,000 | 5,579,493 | 66.8 % | 328,346 | 3.9% | ||
| 2009 | 8,376,761 | 5,533.517 | 66.0 % | 325,314 | 3.9% | ||
Since the second half of the 20th century, the number of churchgoers has dropped. Data for the end of 2005 from the Austrian Roman Catholic church lists 5,662,782 members or 68.5% of the total Austrian population, and a Sunday church attendance of 753,701 or 9% of the total Austrian population. Data for the end of 2008 published by the Austrian Roman Catholic church shows a further reduction to 5,579,493 members or 66.8% of the total Austrian population, and a Sunday church attendance of 698,527 or 8% of the total Austrian population. A further reduction was recorded in 2009 to 5,533,517 adherents of which 683,807 attend Sunday mass.
The Lutheran church also recorded a significant drop in adherents between 2001 and 2009.
Data
| Austrian religious adherents (2005) | |||||
| Catholic | Protestant | Muslim | Other | Unspecified | None |
| 68.5% | 4.7% | 4.2% | 3.5% | 2.0% | 17.1% |
Poll results
According to the 2005 Eurobarometer PollEurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...
,
based on a limited sample:
- 54% of Austrian citizens responded "they believe there is a God".
- 34% answered "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
- 8% answered "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".
See also
- Buddhism in AustriaBuddhism in AustriaBuddhism is a legally recognized religion in Austria and it is followed by more than 10,000 Austrians.Although still small in absolute numbers , Buddhism in Austria enjoys widespread acceptance...
- Roman Catholicism in AustriaRoman Catholicism in AustriaThe Catholic Church of Austria, part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, is under the leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Conference of Austrian Bishops. The Austrian church is the largest Christian denomination of Austria, with, according to the 2001 census, 5.9 million people...
- Old Catholic Church of AustriaOld Catholic Church of AustriaThe Old Catholic Church of Austria is the Austrian member church of the Old Catholic Churches' Union of Utrecht. It was nationally recognized in 1877, despite objections of the imperial dynasty and the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the formally pro-Vatican I Roman Catholic state of Austria-Hungary....
- Hinduism in AustriaHinduism in Austria-Introduction:Early Indian immigrants to Austria were mainly nurses from Kerala, who maintained their links with their homeland. Some Indian professionals in the UN settled down in Austria. There is a small community from rural Punjab, whose members graduated from odd jobs to later become...
- Islam in AustriaIslam in AustriaIslam is a minority religion in Austria with 4.22 % of the population in the 2001 census. In 2010, it is estimated to be around 400,000 to 500,000 Muslims in Austria, or up to about 6% of the total population...
- History of the Jews in AustriaHistory of the Jews in AustriaThe history of the Jews in Austria likely originates in an exodus of Jews from the Roman occupation of Israel. During the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and fell many times: during certain periods, the Jewish community prospered and enjoyed political equality,...
- Religions by countryReligions by countryThis article gives an overview about religion by country. Note that the Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will show dual figures; those are the percentage of people who believe in God and the percentage of nominal adherents who celebrate traditional religious holidays although...
- Freedom of religion in AustriaFreedom of religion in AustriaThe Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice for all but a minority of religious groups...