Religious Students in Austria

Abstract

Students of most religions can expect to find a variety of places of worship in the larger cities of Austria, especially Vienna. As Catholics account for about 74% of the population, Catholic churches can be found across the country. Minority religious groups, however, are concentrated in the bigger cities, and students should keep this in mind. Muslim and Orthodox communities have increased in recent years because of a rise in immigration. Anti-muslim sentiments have been felt by Austria’s muslim immigrants. They have felt unwelcomed, experienced racism in public and mosques and businesses belonging to Muslims have been vandalized (Read/listen to this NPR article). The largest Jewish community is in Vienna. Many of the Jews in Austria today immigrated in waves from the Soviet Union first during the postwar period, then during the 1950’s and again after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989.