Historical survey
Historical Roman-Catholic dominance
Historically speaking, Austria has been a predominantly Roman-Catholic country for many centuries. Religious minorities, foremost Jews, suffered from recurrent prosecution. After the (...)
Religious tolerance in the Habsburg territories
Subsequent to Joseph II’s establishment of tolerance in the politics of religion, strategic regulation of religion became a characteristic of the Habsburg reign, although the clear dominance of (...)
Legal Recognition of Islam in Austria
Following the occupation of the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 and their subsequent annexation in 1908, a significant number of Muslims came under Austro-Hungarian rule. In (...)
A Catholic Authoritarian State
With the dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy after World War I, the laws on religions remained a part of the legal framework. Religion, more precisely secular vs. church-oriented politics, (...)
Religion and nazism
This so-called Austro-fascist system was replaced by Nazism after the unification with Germany (Anschluss) in 1938, which was in part supported by Austrian churches. In 2018, the ecumenical (...)
Historical roots of contemporary governance of religious diversity
The legal framework on religion that Austria readopted after World War II dates back to the Habsburg monarchy. After World War II, consensus orientation became the guiding principle among (...)