Austria's Catholic Roots: A Historical Perspective

Austria has historically been a strongly Catholic country, with the religion being championed by the Habsburg monarchy from 1273 to 1918. While in the 16th century, many Austrians converted to Protestantism, the Habsburgs enacted measures of Counter-Reformation to suppress Austrian Protestantism, and successfully restored Catholicism as the dominant religion. In more recent times, Austria has seen a decline in Catholicism, primarily due to secularization and migration. In 1961, 89% of the population identified as Catholic, compared to 52% in 2022.

Austria's Catholic history

Austria has a long Catholic history. The country was historically a strongly Catholic country, having been the centre of the Habsburg monarchy (1273–1918) which championed Roman Catholicism. The Habsburgs viewed themselves as the vanguard of Catholicism and repressed all other confessions and religions.

In the 16th century, as the Protestant Reformation spread across Europe, many Austrians converted to Protestantism, particularly Lutheranism. The nobility in particular turned towards the Lutheran creed, and Austrian printers began producing Protestant pamphlets from 1521. However, the Habsburgs enacted measures of Counter-Reformation as early as 1527, harshly repressing Austrian Protestantism.

In the era of Austrian enlightenment, Emperor Joseph II issued a Patent of Tolerance for Austria in 1781, allowing other confessions limited freedom of worship. Religious freedom was later declared a constitutional right in Cisleithania after the Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich in 1867.

In the 20th century, Catholicism was treated like a state religion by Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. However, after the end of World War II in 1945, a stricter secularism was imposed in Austria, and religious influence on politics declined.

According to a 2021 national survey, 68.2% of Austria's population identified as Christian, with 80.9% of those identifying as Catholics.

The Austrian Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Conference functions in accordance with the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and its own constitutions. Its legal position as a formal corporation under public law and as a representative body of a state-recognised religious community was confirmed by a 1933 concordat between the Holy See and the First Austrian Republic.

The Austrian Bishops' Conference is the official assembly of the Roman Catholic bishops of Austria and is the supreme authority of the Roman Catholic Church in the country. It was established as a formal body under public law in 1849.

The current president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who belongs to the Central European noble family of Schönborn. The Conference's chairman is Franz Lackner, the Archbishop of Salzburg. Other members include Cardinal Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna; Manfred Scheuer, Bishop of Linz; Alois Schwarz, Bishop of Sankt Pölten; Werner Freistetter, Military Ordinary of Austria; Josef Marketz, Bishop of Gurk; Benno Elbs, Bishop of Feldkirch; Wilhelm Krautwaschl, Bishop of Graz-Seckau; and Aegidius Zsifkovics, Bishop of Eisenstadt.

The decline of Catholicism in Austria

Austria has been historically Catholic, with the religion being championed by the Habsburg monarchy from 1273 to 1918. However, since the 1970s, there has been a decline in Catholicism in the country.

The Impact of the Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517, saw a significant number of Austrians convert to Protestantism, particularly Lutheranism. By the Council of Trent in 1545, almost half of the Austrian population had converted to Lutheranism, and a smaller minority had endorsed Calvinism. The Protestant movement gained ground rapidly, with Austrian printers producing Protestant pamphlets from 1521. The nobility, in particular, turned towards the Lutheran creed, and the sons of the nobility were sent to North German universities to expose them to Protestant influence.

Counter-Reformation

In response to the growing Protestant movement, the Habsburgs enacted measures of Counter-Reformation as early as 1527, harshly repressing Austrian Protestantism. The Habsburgs viewed themselves as the vanguard of Catholicism and suppressed all other confessions and religions. The Jesuits were particularly prominent in Vienna, Graz, and Innsbruck, and a new generation of energetic bishops helped restore the influence of the Catholic Church among Austrians.

Religious Freedom

In 1781, during the era of Austrian enlightenment, Emperor Joseph II issued a Patent of Tolerance for Austria, allowing other confessions limited freedom of worship. Religious freedom was later declared a constitutional right in Cisleithania after the Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich in 1867, recognising the presence of numerous religions in the monarchy beyond Catholicism, including Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, Calvinists, Lutheran Protestants, and Jews.

Post-World War I

Following the fall of the Habsburg monarchy at the end of World War I, and the transformation of Austria into a federal republic, there was a decline in Catholicism in the country. Between the censuses of 1971 and 2021, Catholicism declined from 87.4% to 55.2% of the Austrian population. During this period, the proportion of people who did not affiliate with any religion grew from 4.3% to 22.4%.

Recent Years

In recent years, the number of Catholics in Austria has continued to decline. In 2021, the number of Catholics fell by around 1.6% from the previous year. Additionally, 72,055 people formally left the Catholic Church in Austria in 2021, a higher number compared to 2019 and 2020. The decline in Catholic numbers has been attributed to an unfavourable ratio between baptisms and deaths, as well as people exiting the Church. The number of baptisms has also decreased, with the Church attributing this to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Catholicism vs. Protestantism

Austria was historically a strongly Catholic country, having been the centre of the Habsburg monarchy (1273–1918) which championed Roman Catholicism. Although in the 16th century, many Austrians converted to Protestantism, particularly Lutheranism, as the Protestant Reformation spread across Europe. However, the Habsburgs enacted measures of Counter-Reformation and harshly repressed Austrian Protestantism, reducing it to a minority.

Catholicism and Protestantism are two denominations of Christianity. While the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, Protestantism is a general term for any denomination of Christianity that is not subject to papal authority.

Scriptures and Tradition

Protestants view the Scriptures as the sole source of Christian doctrine and the only thing that should be considered authoritative. In contrast, Catholics hold that the Bible must be interpreted by the Church, and that tradition is equal in authority with the Scriptures.

Salvation and Grace

Protestants believe that salvation is by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. In other words, justification is a specific point at which God declares a person to be righteous, marking their entry into the Christian life. On the other hand, the Catholic Church views justification as a process, dependent on the grace received by participating in the Church, which is seen as a repository of saving grace.

Eucharist

The Catholic Church holds to the doctrine of transubstantiation, believing that during the mass, the ritual elements of bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ. Some Protestants, like Lutherans, hold to the perspective of consubstantiation, where Jesus' body and blood are seen as coexisting with the bread and the wine. Others take a memorial view, seeing the elements as symbols that remain ontologically unaffected by the ritual.

Priesthood

Protestants see the church as having a horizontal structure, with each church independent and headed by Pastors, Elders, and Deacons. In contrast, the Catholic Church has a vertical structure, with the Pope at the top, followed by Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and Priests.

Saints and the Virgin Mary

Roman Catholics pray to Saints and the Virgin Mary, seeing them as able to pass on their overabundance of grace. In contrast, Protestants view this as bordering on idolatry and emphasise direct access to God.

Catholicism and the Habsburgs

Austria was historically a strongly Catholic country, having been the centre of the Habsburg monarchy (1273–1918) which championed Roman Catholicism. The Habsburgs viewed themselves as the vanguard of Catholicism, and all other confessions and religions were repressed.

The Protestant movement gained ground rapidly in Austria in the 16th century. The nobility in particular turned toward the Lutheran creed, and Austrian printers began producing Protestant pamphlets from 1521. The Anabaptists proved popular among the peasant population, but they were persecuted from the start due to their lack of support from the estates and their radicalism.

In response to the spread of Protestantism, the Habsburgs enacted measures of Counter-Reformation as early as 1527, and harshly repressed Austrian Protestantism. The Jesuits spearheaded the Catholic Counter-Reformation, with the support of the Habsburgs. The first Jesuit house in the empire was established in Vienna in 1551 by Ferdinand I, and foundations followed in all the larger cities. The Jesuits were of immense importance in the ideological transfer of Catholicism, as they had taken a vow of absolute loyalty to the pope and worked with great mobility and cosmopolitan scope. They were tutors and confessors to many Habsburgs in the Baroque era, and so had great political influence at Court.

The Counter-Reformation scored its first successes in Gorizia and Carniola, where Protestantism had remained insignificant. Official religious commissions started to replace Protestant preachers with Catholic clergymen. The conversion of the cities and market centres of Lower Austria to Catholicism was conducted by Melchior Klesl, who later became bishop and cardinal. In Upper Austria, where the Protestants had their strongest hold, the situation remained undecided, with the Catholic governor Hans Jakob Löbl of Greinburg and the Calvinist Georg Erasmus of Tschernembl leading the opposing religious parties.

The future emperor Ferdinand II proved to be the most resolute advocate of the Counter-Reformation. It was he who eventually succeeded in uprooting Protestantism, first in Inner Austria and then in the other Habsburg countries, with the exception of Hungary and Silesia. In 1599, he began a campaign of forcible re-Catholicization among his subjects, which proved entirely successful.

The goal of making the mass of the population return to the Catholic Church was achieved not only by intensified pastoral care and pious works, but also through terror and violence. Habsburg state power rigorously destroyed Protestant ecclesiastical structures and persecuted non-Catholics mercilessly. The non-Catholic nobility was faced with the alternative of conversion or exile. Catholicism became the most important ideological and cultural fundament of aristocratic society in the Habsburg Monarchy.

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