A rich and influential church
The powerful Austrian Church receives 1% of every citizen's income. A tax introduced by Hitler in 1939. Among the customs linked to religion that still persist today is the giving of a cream cake during Holy Week. Many Austrians still attend Sunday mass, especially in the countryside. Moreover, religious monuments and buildings are particularly well maintained and generally open to the public every day, in contrast to France, where you 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 not unrelated. Catholicism is still very much a part of the mentality. And on religious holidays as well as for the major ceremonies marking family life, attendance is far from the disaffection observed in Western European countries.
In the villages, many Austrians go to mass every Sunday in traditional costume. The state guarantees the exercise of religion, the protection of institutions, funds, autonomy in the administration and management of the internal affairs of the church. In addition to the religious education provided in public schools, clergymen have the right to open private denominational schools. The law on the religious education of children stipulates that every child may 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 visible, if only by the number of perfectly maintained religious monuments throughout the country. Diocesan priests and religious men and women of the congregations are respected by the population. If you come during Holy Week, at Christmas or around August 15, you will be able to measure the popular religious fervour and participate in beautiful religious festivals. Religious freedom is enshrined in the country's constitution and religious practices are allowed. 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 Muslims. A significant proportion of Austria's Muslims are descendants of the Gastarbeiter, the foreign guest workers of the 1960s. They numbered 22,267 in 1971 and 76,939 in 1981. The wars in Yugoslavia (1991-2001) with the arrival of many refugees - 158,776 in 1991, then 338,988 in 2001 - contributed to strengthening the ranks of Muslims in Austria. To sum up, the vast majority of Muslims in Austria today are of Turkish descent and a large minority of Bosnian origin.
Controversial "Islam Map" in Austria
In Austria, it is not good to be a Muslim. At the end of May 2021, as part of the fight against 'political Islam' led by the Austrian government, the government presented and made public a 'map of Islam' in the country, available on the Internet. This map lists the mosques and Muslim associations. It immediately worried Muslims and led to an outcry from humanist groups. This interactive map, easily accessible, lists the names and addresses of over 600 mosques. Catholics and Jews have joined Muslims in openly denouncing it as a discriminatory and even dangerous object likely to stir up fundamentalism. On June 4, in an op-ed 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 has severely degraded inter-community cohabitation. Austria has seen Islamophobic acts increase from 309 per year in 2017 to 540 in 2018. In this country, Muslims represent almost 10% of the population, which is 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 fears 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, at the head of 360 mosques, is committed to fighting radicalization in his own ranks, but cannot hide the fact that the far-right terrorist Brenton Tarrant, perpetrator of the attacks in Christchurch (Australia) in March 2019 against two mosques (51 dead), had financially supported the radical identity movement in Austria. And the light has yet to be shed on this network strong of 300 identified nationalist militants. In the meantime, the Muslims of Austria must certainly rejoice at the conviction for corruption, at the end of June 2021, of Heinz-Christian Strache, former leader of the Austrian far right, after a trial that led to his resignation as vice-chancellor in 2019.
