Austrian Folk 57many wars in its defense. Josef II made many religious reforms
in the late 18th century and gave Calvinists, Lutherans and
Jews more rights. He also gave Orthodox citizens the right
to practise their religion and build churches. Today, about
73 per cent of Austrians classify themselves as Catholic.
Slightly less than 5 per cent are Protestant and 4 per cent
of the country are Muslim. About 3 per cent belong to other
faiths and 12 per cent claim no religious identity.
Austria, and Vienna in particular, has always been at
the crossroads of many nationalities and their respective
religions, yet not until Austria became a sovereign country
after World War II did the various nationalities openly practise
their religions. As you drive through some of the larger
cities, especially Vienna and Salzburg, you sees synagogues,
mosques and Buddhist temples.
Paying into the Church
Belonging to any church in Austria requires you to pay a certain
percentage (approximately 1.5 per cent) of your earnings into
the church’s account. A word of warning: if you don’t wish
to pay into a church, do not fill out the religion section of
your initial police registration form ( Meldezettel). You might
then get a payment form (Zahlschein) and newsletters from
the church, and you will be expected to pay. Getting out of
this situation is extremely difficult and requires many phone
calls and a letter or two in German stating why you do not
wish to contribute toward that church.
Religious Classes for Children
Religious instruction is provided in public school for 12 years.
Classes are offered for all of the officially-recognised religions.
Parents can elect to have their child not attend these classes,
and instead opt to have the child take private religious classes
during the week. However, these are expensive and not
very popular.
Catholicism
The vast majority of Austrians are considered to be Roman
Catholic. The Catholic rituals, such as weddings and funerals,