Religion in Austria

Austria's numerous social issues, such as high rates of risk behaviors in the country's youth, are even more shocking when one considers that the nation is predominantly Catholic. According to the CIA World Factbook, over 73% of the religious population practices Roman Catholicism, with much of the rest of the majority comprising other Protestant sects as well as a small population of Muslims. However, despite the sheer number of Catholics, the practicing of this religion seems to be based on quantity rather than quality.



As stated in the proposal for this blog, the influence of religion on Austrian society (or lack thereof) may very well be due to the remnants of Communist influence on the nation. The years Austria spent behind the Iron Curtain, those years in which all organized religion there was banned, undoubtedly had lingering effects on its people. Although the principles of love, freedom, and righteousness that form the basic beliefs of Catholicism spelled out relief for people who had suffered years without the right of religion, these same people seemed to have unwillingly become used to the lack of religious morals. As such, they seem to practice Catholicism only in so far as saying they do. But according to the Letter of James, faith without good works has no meaning (2:15-17). In any culture, Catholicism must be lived to the fullest in order for its principles to mean anything. Saying that one is Catholic is not enough as practicing the faith in all aspects of life.
From the high number of risk behaviors in Austria's youth, it can be inferred that there is very little influence placed on including the younger generation in the faith. If this is true, one solution can be for the Church to offer the opportunity for young children to have religious education programs. While this will not automatically stop all risk behaviors in youth, increased education of Catholicism and its principles may very well be a large part of the solution to protect future generations in Austria.
Chris Milliman

Social Issues Within Austria

Countries dispersed throughout the globe from every corner seem to share many benefits and troubles, though separated by thousands of miles and exposed to vastly different lifestyles. In this instance, however, Austria suffers from a fairly common ailment: Issues within the established society. At a glance, Austria is the 7th wealthiest country in Central Europe. With more money, however, comes more problems as the late and forever great Notorious B.I.G. once said. Throwing dollar after dollar at problems is not a justified solution to any issue that can be presented.

Native Austrian: Notorious B.I.G

That being said, Austria has made attempts to establish some sort of reformation among the youth of the country by instilling more monetary funds into education but only to be plagued with the following problems concerning it’s youth: High drinking, smoking, and relatively high suicide rates among younger, under age individuals. In your opinion, what role can religion and the government, respectively, play in bringing the aforementioned issues down within Austria to at least a more tightly controlled level?

Austrian Environment

Austria is a country with many of the same problems with environmental issues as America and other more developed countries. There are many acts and ordinances in place to protect the environment such as a toxic waste law: a law that was enacted in 1984 and established a series of strict standards for the collection, transport and disposal of dangerous substances. The Austrian government has also reduced sulphur dioxide emissions by 2/3 by placing regulations on gas emissions. In the early 1990s Austria was emitting 56.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, placing them in the top 50 countries; in 1996, that number rose to 59.3 million metric tons.

Austria is also battling an ongoing fight with acid rain, which has damaged 25% of the country's forests. Due to the pollution of the forests by acid rain, many species, including the damselfly, the large blue butterfly and the European mink, have become endangered; 7 out of 83 species of mammals the country houses are threatened; 5 out of 213 bird species are endangered. Today, even the crops cannot provide a sustainable benefit and many farms survive only through financial subsidies by Austria or the European Union.

Do you think that Austria's government is doing enough, by passing laws and laying down regulations, to save their environment from further destruction?

Politics in Austria

Although time has passed since the fall of Nazi empire, its stain is still evident in the politics of Austria, as well as the ideologies of its people. In the recent 2008 Parliament elections, two far right-wing political groups, the Freedom Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria, were able to capture nearly 30% of the Austrian vote. Both the Freedom Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria advocate for anti-immigration legislation and the expulsion of non-Austrian criminals from the country. These views are a cause of worry for the European Union, who see these things as a danger to the peace and the collaboration of European countries. As well, the European Union fears that these two parties may merge, forming a political party that may be able to take the presidency of Austria. However, what the international community fears more than anything about the two right-wing parties is their support of the Nazi party. Former Freedom Party leader, Joerg Haider, has been quoted numerous times calling Nazi soldiers victims and worthy of public honor. Do you believe the European Union, as well as the complete international community, has the right to impede on Austria Democratic elections? As well, do you believe that the pro-Nazi sentiment of Austrian people is carried over from their previous Nazi rule, or do you believe it is a completely new movement? Why do you think Austria, a Christian majority country, has so many issues with racism and prejudice?

On April 25, 2010, Austrian voters selected President Heinz Fischer, a Social Democrat, for a second term, receiving nearly 80% of the country's vote. On the other hand, far right presidential nominee, Barbara Rosenkranz was only able to capture 15% of the vote. Do you believe the results of these elections show that radical right-wing views of Austrians have passed, or merely lay dormant?

President Heinz Fischer

First Blog Posting

Over the years, Austria has been facing much adversity as a nation. Various professionals seem to be expecting much more productivity out of a country with such a high reputation. However, no one can denounce these opinions because currently Austria is considered a first world country that continues to face major setbacks in becoming a further stabilized nation. With this in mind, what can be the fundamental cause or several underlying causes of its numerous social, political, and environmental problems? Can the setback, or setbacks, lie within the notable annexation with Germany during the world wars, or did the impeding factors emerge after Austria became an independent nation?

Lingering effects from Communist rule is quite a possibility when dealing with a nation that had such close ties with a powerhouse house nation such as Germany. During the era of the world wars, European nations dealt with incredible changes that corrupted any sort of productive movement towards independency. Globalization of Austria was halted due to Germany’s total command of the region. Austria maintained little to no control over their domestic issues which led to far greater troubles in the long run. Today, we can see these issues on much greater levels partially due to the insufficient priorities they set within their nation. The mix ups in priorities can be seen within major intraregional problems such as the inability to regain religious stability within their nation following the ban of organized religion under Communist rule. With more than 75 percent of Austria practicing Roman Catholicism today, can solutions be reached through a unified persistence of finding proper, religious-minded solutions to the nation’s various disputes?

David N.