A rich and influential church
The powerful Austrian Church receives 1% of every citizen's income. This tax, known as Kirchenbeitrag, was introduced by Hitler in 1939 and still exists today. Religious customs that persist to this day include offering a cream cake during Holy Week. Many Austrians still attend Sunday mass, especially in rural areas. What's more, religious monuments and buildings are particularly well-maintained and generally open to the public every day, unlike in France where you'll often find the door closed when you want to visit a rural church. If Austria is considered one of the most conservative countries in Europe, it seems that the weight of the Catholic religion is no stranger to it. Catholicism still has a strong influence on the way people think. And on religious holidays, as well as for the major ceremonies that mark family life, attendance is far greater than the disaffection observed in Western Europe.
In the villages, many Austrians attend mass every Sunday in traditional costume. The state guarantees the exercise of religion, the protection of institutions and funds, and autonomy in the administration and management of the Church's internal affairs. In addition to the religious education provided in state schools, clerics have the right to open private denominational schools. The law on the religious education of children stipulates that every child can choose his or her religion from the age of 14. Relations between the Austrian state and the Church are governed by international law and, at the same time, by agreements with the Vatican. The financial power of the Church is evident from the number of perfectly maintained religious monuments throughout the country. Diocesan priests and religious congregations are respected by the population. If you come during Holy Week, at Christmas or around August 15, you'll be able to gauge the religious fervor of the people and take part in some wonderful religious celebrations. Religious freedom is enshrined in the country's constitution, and all religious practices are permitted. The other religions represented and practiced in Austria are mainly Islam and to a very small extent Judaism, especially in Vienna, and, by a very small minority, Buddhism. Just under 10% of Austrian residents are Muslim. A significant proportion of Austria's Muslims are descendants of the Gastarbeiter, the foreign guest workers of the 1960s. Their numbers rose from 22,267 in 1971 to 76,939 in 1981. The wars in Yugoslavia (1991-2001), with the arrival of large numbers of refugees - 158,776 in 1991, then 338,988 in 2001 - further strengthened the ranks of Austrian Muslims. In short, the vast majority of Muslims in Austria today are of Turkish descent, with a large minority of Bosnian origin.
Controversial "Islam Map" in Austria
In Austria, it's not good to be a Muslim. At the end of May 2021, as part of the Austrian government's fight against "political Islam", the government presented and made public a "map of Islam" in the country, available on the Internet. The map lists mosques and Muslim associations. It immediately caused concern among Muslims, and led to an outcry from humanist circles. This easily accessible interactive map lists the names and addresses of over 600 mosques. Catholics and Jews have joined Muslims in openly denouncing the map as discriminatory, even dangerous, and likely to stir up fundamentalism. On June 4, in an article published in the newspaper Heute, the influential Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, criticized the Austrian government's presentation of this online "map of Islam".
The return to power of the far-right FPÖ party in 2017 severely degraded cohabitation between communities. Austria has seen Islamophobic acts multiply, rising from 309 a year in 2017 to 540 in 2018. In this country, Muslims represent almost 10% of the population, which corresponds to one of the highest rates in the European Union. This religious community has long been stigmatized by the far right, which has no qualms about falsifying information to stir up fear and racism. For the record, Muslims are officially registered by law in Austria, which is not a comfortable situation.
The president of the Austrian Muslim Federation, the IGGÖ, which heads 360 mosques, is committed to combating radicalization in his own ranks, but cannot conceal the fact that far-right terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who carried out the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch (Australia) in March 2019 (51 dead), had financially supported the radical identitarian movement in Austria. The truth about this network of 300 identified nationalist militants has yet to be revealed. In the meantime, Austria's Muslims should certainly rejoice when Heinz-Christian Strache, former leader of Austria's far right, is convicted of corruption at the end of June 2021, after a trial that led to his resignation as vice-chancellor in 2019.
