Religion in Austria

Religion in Austria (2016)

Christianity is the predominant religion in Austria. At the 2001 census, 73.6% of the country's population was Roman Catholic. As of 2016^[update], the number of Catholics has dropped to 58.8% of the population. There is a much smaller group of Evangelicals, totalling about 4.7% of the population in 2001, now 3.4% in 2016. Since 2001, these two historically dominant religious groups in Austria recorded losses in the number of adherents. The Roman Catholic Church reported an absolute drop of 14.8%, the Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed churches of 1.3%. In relative numbers the losses of the smaller Evangelical churches account to 32.5% compared to 21.2% of catholic losses in the same period.

In contrast, due to immigration the number of Muslims in Austria has increased sharply in recent years, with 4.2% of the population calling themselves Muslim in 2001, up to around 5% to 6.2% in 2010, and to 7% in 2015-2016. Orthodox churches have also grown to represent up to 6% of the population. Both the communities are represented by recent immigrants, especially from Turkey and the Balkans. There are also minor communities of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jews, and other religions in Austria.

The Protestant Reformation spread from northern Germany to Austria. By the Council of Trent in 1545, almost half of the Austrian population had converted to Lutheranism, while a minority also endorsed Calvinism. Eastern Austria was more affected by this phenomenon than western Austria. After 1545, Austria was in the Counter Reformation. The Habsburgs imposed a strict regime to restore the influence of the Roman Catholic Church among Austrians and their campaign proved successful. The Habsburgs for a long time viewed themselves as the vanguard of Roman Catholicism, while all the other Christian confessions and religions were repressed.

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