” “Believers under the spotlight

The plenary assembly of Austrian bishops, under the presidency of Cardinal Christopher Schönborn, opened in the Voralberg, close to the Liechstenstein frontier, on the 19th March and is due to end on the 21st. Many issues are on the agenda: the questions linked to European integration, in particular the challenges posed by the reunification of Europe, religious instruction in schools, 2002 ‘year of vocations’. The assembly’s concluding session will be devoted to the results of the ballots for the renewal of the pastoral councils on Sunday 17 March, the reform of the universities, ecumenism and “the alliance for the maintenance of Sunday as a day of rest”. The assembly’s conclusions will be made public in Vienna on Friday 22nd. The bishops can draw on the findings of a study conducted by Paul Zulehner , dean of the institute of pastoral theology at the University of Vienna, that has monitored thirty years of Austrian religious life in a long and painstaking reconstruction. We offer a brief summary of Zulehner’s findings below. The Austrians and faith: those who might be described as ‘religious composers’, people whose faith is formed of a patchwork of variegated pieces, are becoming ever more numerous. The mixing together of different beliefs, “Christian positions that alternate with models of thought imported from the Far East, but also from a humanistic or naturalistic conception of existence”, are highlighted by Paul Zulehner’s research. According to Zulehner, Austrian faithful can be subdivided into some categories: the “religious composers” are flanked (to pursue the same musical metaphor) by “those whose faith is a mere noise” (30% of those interviewed) and others who “aspire to compose symphonies or experimental music”. A visible religion. Another striking finding is that “religion is no longer defined as a private matter”. It is surprising how many Austrian declare that “a religious dimension in their own view of the world must have visible consequences”. “There is hard evidence – points out Zulehner – to show that an intelligent ‘re-institutionalization’ of the faith is taking place, for example in the construction of new networks and reciprocal relations between those interested in religious matters”. A “selfish approach to faith, experienced only for personal gratification, or believed in only because it fills one with a sense of well-being”, is also, in Zulehner’s view, disappearing. These new factors, while “they emphasize the erroneousness of those who predicted a progressive disappearance of faith in the secularized West”, at the same time appeal to the Churches to step up their pastoral efforts. A variegated community. Another finding of the survey is that the community of believers in Austria “is far more differentiated that is normally thought”. 56% of those interviewed declare themselves “formally members of a Church”. 42% of them are defined as “social-Christian”, i.e. persons who “expect from the Church a decided commitment in the public and civil life of their own country”. Only 12%, the so-called “ritualists”, “appreciate greatly”, according to Zulehner, “the charismatic aspect and the components of the liturgical life within the Church, but reject its option for social commitment”. A further 30% consider themselves “active Christians”, in other words “firmly incorporated within community life”. Emotions in the forefront. In the view of Regina Polak, assistant of Paul Zulehner at the University of Vienna and assistant in his investigation over the last thirty years, the attitude to religion in Austria has changed: “It has undoubtedly become more practical: what we find in the foreground today is the emotional dimension. The views of the world are strongly diversified and, especially in the big cities, we are witnessing a new desire for spirituality”. P.Co.