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Centro Argentino de Estudios Internacionales / Entelequia. Revista Interdisciplinar
Documentary appendix on the situation of Muslim
communities in the European Union (EU-25 +
acceding countries) (United States Department of
State)
Austria
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects
this right in practice.
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period
covered by this report, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally
free practice of religion.
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious
freedom; however, there is some societal mistrust and discrimination against members
of some nonrecognized religious groups, particularly those referred to as "sects." There
was no marked deterioration in the atmosphere of religious tolerance in the country
during the period covered by this report.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of 32,382 square miles, and its population is an estimated 8
million. The largest minority groups are Croatian, Slovene, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak,
and Roma. In the past several years, the country has experienced a rise in immigration
from countries such as Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has increased the number
of Muslims in the country.
According to the 2001 census, membership in major religions is as follows: Roman
Catholic Church--74.0 percent; Lutheran and Presbyterian churches (Evangelical Church-
-Augsburger and Helvetic confessions)--4.7 percent; Islamic community--4.2 percent;
Jewish community--0.1 percent; Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Serbian, Romanian,
and Bulgarian)--2.2 percent; other Christian churches--0.9 percent; other non-Christian
religious groups--0.2 percent. Atheists accounted for 12 percent; 2 percent did not
indicate a religious affiliation.
The vast majority of groups termed "sects" by the Government are small organizations
with fewer than 100 members.
The provinces of Carinthia and Burgenland have somewhat higher percentages of
Protestants than the national average. The number of Muslims is higher than the national
average in Vienna and the province of Vorarlberg, where industry drew a
Arno Tausch, Christian Bischof, Tomz Kastrun, Karl Mueller 261