AUSTRIA: New Proposed Law on Religion causes Public Outcry

 

Proposed Changes to the Religion
Law in Austria
Represent a Major Step Backwards
in Defiance of Court Mandates

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Alexandria, VA - July 1, 2011 - In an ongoing trend of legislative restrictions on religious freedom, proposed revisions to the 1998 Austrian Law on the Status of Religious Confessional Communities (1998 Law) would perpetuate a system that violates fundamental human rights.

The 1998 Law treated minority faiths and their parishioners as second class citizens not entitled to the rights, privileges and protections afforded favored faiths. Rather than remedy the defects in the law as mandated by the European Court of Human Rights and the Austria Constitutional Court, new legislation has been proposed that will propagate the inherent human rights inequities in the law and, for some religions, make matters worse.  The regressive, rather than progressive, nature of the amendments is extremely disappointing.

Instead of facilitating equal treatment of all religions, the proposed changes to the 1998 Law would deny recognition to some currently recognized religions and continue the moratorium for other religions not currently recognized as "religious societies". These provisions are in direct defiance of judicial decisions by the European Court of Human Rights regarding these provisions, as well as OSCE and UN standards. 

The proposed amendments to the law will implement: a) a three-tired system found discriminatory by the European Court of Human Rights; b) retroactive "de-registration" of recognized religious groups, which violates the Rule of Law; and c) repressive membership and duration requirements.

The proposed law is scheduled to be taken up in Parliament on 6 July 2011.

Currently, there are 14 recognized religious communities in Austria. According to reports published this week by FOREF, five religions currently recognized under the 1998 Law -- Old Catholics, Methodists, Buddhists, Mormons, and the Apostolic Church -- would lose that status if the proposed law is enacted.

In the opinion of THE INSTITUTE, this represents a major step backwards for religious freedom in Austria.  It is surprising and distressing that a country that is the seat of major human rights institutions such the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is choosing to turn its back on human rights commitments it is obliged to follow. 

The full THE INSTITUTE analysis on the Austrian amendments can be found here.

OSCE Meeting on Religious Freedom in Vienna - FOREF Statement & Recommentations

SUPPLEMENTARY HUMAN DIMENSION MEETING

ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF

9-10 December 2010 Hofburg, Vienna
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Statement & Recommendations
AUSTRIA

BACKGROUND:

In Austria, we have over 66 percent Catholics and 2.9 Protestants. Islam, with 450 000 Muslims (4.2percent) constitutes the second largest faith community. Only 14 faith communities enjoy special privileges by the state. Another 10 are so-called “Confessional Communities.” There are approximately 600 religious minority groups, which are regarded as so-called “sects” and are targets of the anti-sect offices.  With a population of 8.2 million, Austria has no less than 33 anti – sect offices operating in the country. Proportionally, this marks an unmatched record in Europe and even on a global scale.

● Including the Federal Sect Observatory, there are five (5) state sponsored sect observation offices

● Nine (9) Catholic Sect Offices

● Seven (7) Protestant Sect Offices
● Four (4) Private Sect Offices
● and eight (8) Family Counseling Offices with special emphasis on “Sectarian
issues”.

Austria’s constitutionally granted freedom of religion and the neutrality of the state in religious matters are torpedoed by the following facts:

FOREF-COMMENTARY: Who needs the National Sect-Office?

FOREF-COMMENTARY: Who needs the National Sect-Office? by Werner Mueller

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Vienna, 8.12.2010 – The National Office for Sectarian Issues exists in Vienna since 1998. Its central purpose is to collect, document and distribute information about so-called sects. The nature of this information is unknown. Is it publicly available information from the media, reports from so-called drop-outs or information from the so-called sects themselves? We do not know because the national office divulges no information about it and so transparency is non-existent. The taxpayers should actually expect it from a public office funded by taxes with a budget of over 400,000 Euro.
(Photo: Dr. German Müller, leader of the Federal Sect-Office)

The reference of the national office to simply collect, evaluate and distribute information about so-called sects, does not justify the expense of approximately seven employees. And anyhow, what is meant by collecting information, is the television programme perused for contents relating to the theme or daily newspapers evaluated? And if so, who receives these “threatening medial scenarios” which ultimately contribute to opinion making? The public is not permitted any insight into files relating to persons or financial issues of the National Office for Sectarian Issues.

Should we take a look at the work and results of the National Office for Sectarian Issues over the last ten years then it is sobering to establish that the “observation” of “sects” has not led to any results by this office. Where are the publications, the informational documents or the public presentations which reveal the potential risk of “sects”? And what results has the now more than ten years of observation of these groups brought? The National Office for Sectarian Issues remains silent on this issue. What we can read are individual annual reports of this office which in no way really describe the allegedly potential danger which apparently comes from “sects”.