The number of Christians decreases while more people are searching for the meaning to life. This was the ambivalent result of a survey on the sociological evolution of Christianity in Austria. The report, presented in Wien in the past few days by Josef Höchtl, President of the Austrian Association for Understanding Between Peoples, highlights the constant decrease in the number of Christian faithful since the end of the 1960s. But there is a higher number of young people who say they believe in God. “This is not necessarily linked to being part of the Church”, pointed out Mr. Höchtl, encouraging Christians to be more present and display their religious stands: “there is a need for more courage in declaring one’s faith in public”, he explained. In 1946, Catholics in Austria amounted to almost six million, 90% of the overall population. In 2006 they were 5.63 million, amounting to only 70%. While there was an increase in those who declare themselves a-confessional; from 264.014 in 1951 to 963.263 in 2001. Most of them live in the capital city. According to the “European Social Survey”, Austria’s data is within EU’s average. Comparison with extra-European countries shows, according to Höchtl, that “many parts of Europe, including Austria, have now become ‘land of mission'”. This should not be reason “for retreat, rather, as Christians we should ask ourselves what we can do in our environment to allow faith to be recovered within social awareness”, he added. “In view of the increasing lack of social guidance, there is the need for a strong Church capable of offering help and solidarity as an alternative to an increasingly egoistic world”, he explained. Encouraging data refers to the youth: the survey on Youth Values, conducted in 2006, registers an increase in the number of young people who say they believe in God: “a clear sign of the quest for meaning and values”, Höchtl declared. It is therefore necessary that “the foundations of Christian faith” be at the centre of religion classes while compulsory ethics classes should be given to the a-confessionals or to those students who aren’t registered in religion classes.
