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AUSTRIA EXPLAINED

REVEALED: Just how religious are Austrians?

How many Austrians believe in a higher power and who are the people who still believe in Jesus Christ? A new survey has revealed all.

Published: 18 December 2023 15:57 CET

austria church stephansdom

People visit the famous St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna on August 11, 2021. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)

Austria is known for its many religious traditions and holidays, particularly the ones connected with Catholicism. The country celebrates Christmas with famous markets, and many religious dates not celebrated in other Catholic countries are official holidays here.

However, a new survey conducted by the Linz Market Institute for the newspaper Der Standard shows that despite the traditions, Austrians believe less and less in the Church’s dogmas.

Only 21 percent of Austrian men and 12 percent of women believe that “there is a God who makes himself known in Jesus Christ”.

Even among those who describe themselves as involved in the church, only 60 percent say they believe in Jesus Christ as God, Der Standard reported.

READ ALSO: Why is Good Friday not a holiday in Austria?

Sixteen percent of Austrians believe in Jesus Christ, and 45 percent believe that “there is a higher being or a spiritual power”. Additionally, 23 percent said they do not believe that “there is a God, any higher being or a spiritual power”, an idea particularly widespread among younger people, those with a higher level of education, the Viennese and Green, liberal Neos and centre-left SPÖ voters.

In contrast, the report added that belief in Jesus Christ is still relatively high among the conservative ÖVP voters – about twice as high as the population average.

The fact that the Austrian population does not want to be led by the church is not entirely new, the newspaper said. This survey has been asking for 15 years whether the Catholic Church has “the right answers for people in our time” – and back in 2008, 68 percent said that this was hardly or not at all the case.

READ ALSO: Austrian Christmas traditions: The festive dates you need to know

At that time, however, seven percent thought that the Church definitely had the correct answers; now, this core of devout Catholics has shrunk to three percent.

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'Too many schnitzels': Austrians called out for high meat consumption

When you visit a restaurant in Austria, you may struggle to find a lot of vegetarian options.

That’s because Austria is a meat heavy country – and national dishes like the Wiener Schnitzel and Tafelspitz – a boiled beef or veal in broth – attest to that.

READ ALSO: The best and worst Austrian foods (as voted for by you)

But do people in Austria eat too much meat?

Yes, according to the animal protection NGO Vier Pfoten (Four Paws), who said Austria’s meat consumption is almost twice as high as the global average.

According to research the organisation compiled for the so-called ‘Meat Exhaustion Day’, the Austrian population will have eaten the recommended amount of meat for the whole year by April 7th.

The calculation is based on the ‘Planetary Health Diet’, a scientifically based eating plan developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission, which takes into account the effects of nutrition on both the climate and human health.

Austria is ahead of its neighbours when it comes to consuming meat. In Germany, the ‘Meat Exhaustion Day’ deadline is April 21st, and in Switzerland, it’s May 6th.

People in Austria are eating “almost four times as much meat as recommended,” said Vier Pfoten campaign manager Veronika Weissenböck, adding that it is “alarming”.

READ ALSO: How did the Wiener Schnitzel become an Austrian icon?

‘More than seven schnitzels per week’

At 58.6 kilograms per capita per year, meat consumption in Austria is almost twice as high as the average global consumption (33 kilograms).

According to Vier Pfoten, each person eats 1.13 kilos per week, which is the equivalent of more than seven schnitzels per week.

The Schnitzel.

The Schnitzel is an Austrian classic. Photo by Lukas on Pexels.

The recommended amount of 301 grams of meat per week corresponds to no more than two schnitzels, said the NGO.

Weissenböck said countries like Austria needed to look into the problems related to excessive consumption.

“The truth is that cheap meat from factory farming costs us dearly,” she said. “The consequential costs of environmental pollution, climate pollution, the use of antibiotics, but also the rising costs in the health system due to a diet that is too heavy on meat – all of this has long been falling on our heads. Meat consumption must be reduced as quickly as possible.”

Vier Pfoten said that by eating two thirds less meat, Austria could save 28 percent of greenhouse gases in the food sector.

They called on politicians to put forward measures to reduce meat consumption, such as ending discount campaigns on meat and making sure companies have transparent labelling on products detailing the way animals are reared.

But is that a reality?

Probably not, or at least it isn’t high on the agenda in the political landscape in Austria.

In fact, Chancellor Karl Nehammer, of the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) last year came under fire for dismissing left-wing complaints that there are children in Austria going hungry by saying that everyone could afford cheap meat – namely a €1.70 Hamburger from McDonald’s.

He admitted that “it’s not healthy, but it’s cheap”.

READ ALSO: Austrian chancellor under fire for saying low-income families should eat at McDonalds

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