Adherence Figures
Catholics in Austria [1] [2]
|
| year |
population |
catholics |
percentage |
| 1951 |
6.933.905 |
6.170.084 |
89,0 % |
| 1961 |
7.073.807 |
6.295.075 |
89.0 % |
| 1971 |
7.491.526 |
6.548.316 |
87.4 % |
| 1981 |
7.555.338 |
6.372.645 |
84.3 % |
| 1991 |
7.795.786 |
6.081.454 |
78.0 % |
| 2001 |
8.032.926 |
5.915.421 |
73.6 % |
| 2005 |
8.250.000 |
5.662.782 |
68.5 % |
| 2008 |
8.350.000 |
5.579.493 |
66.8 % |
Among religions in Austria, Roman Catholic Christianity is predominant. According to the 2001 census, 73.6% of the country's population adhered to this denomination.[3] The number of Sunday churchgoers stood at around 11.5% (as percentage of the total Austrian population, that is 914,348 churchgoers out of a total population of 8,043,000). Since 2001, the number of Roman Catholics and number of churchgoers have reduced. 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[4]. 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.[5] .
The number of the much smaller group the Lutherans also declined, from 5.7% in 1971 to 4.7 in 2006. Most Lutherans reside in the province of Carinthia, South Austria. Meanwhile, the number of Muslims is on the increase, with 4.2%. There are also minor communities of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jews in Austria.[6][7]
| Austrian Roman Catholic church Figures (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 Poll,[8] 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".
History
Austria was greatly affected by the Protestant reformation, to the point a majority of the population became Protestant. The prominent position of the Habsburgs in the Counter-Reformation, 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, 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 and the former Yugoslavia, has led to an increased number number of Muslims and Serbian Orthodox Christians.[9]
See also
Notes
External links
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