Pray for Austria

Located in the heart of Europe, Austria is a land-locked nation with a long, rich history in music, art, and culture. The names of Mozart, Schubert, Freud, Wittgenstein and Klimt are known internationally for their accomplishments. The beautiful scenery of the Eastern Alps and Danube River Valley in Austria attracts tourists from all over the world. Vienna, its capital, hosts the headquarters of several well-known international organizations as well as an extensive branch of the United Nations.

Home to the House of Habsburg, the nation battled through the Austro-Prussian War, saw the crumbling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then was annexed by Germany before WWII. Austria as we now know it started in 1955. As a gateway and center for trading between Eastern and Western Europe, Austria has always had a policy for neutrality. It enjoys a prosperous economy and a high standard of living. But even with a modern mindset and a focus on human rights, the Austrian people live with high suicide, alcoholism and abortion rates.

Austria’s capital city of Vienna was once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Roman Catholicism is still the dominant religion in Austria, practiced by 89 percent of Austrians. Catholic churches, shrines, monasteries, and cathedrals can be seen throughout the country yet only nine percent of professing Catholics attend church. That number decreased further after news of sex scandals within the Catholic Church. Legislation in 1998 restricted religious freedoms in Austria but just in the last decade the government has acknowledged full legal recognition of the evangelical churches. About 6 percent of Austrians are Protestant (Baptist or Methodist) or members of sects unique to Austria. With a significant increase in the immigration population, the Muslim adherents are growing. The number of Austrians estimated to have involvement with the occult outnumbers church attendees, and about ten percent of the population claims to have no religion at all. Despite the spiritual emptiness found in Austria, Jesus is moving and building His Church.