REVIEW of Heiner Boberski, Peter Gnaiger, Martin Haidinger, Thomas Schaller, and Robert Weichinger. Mächtig–Männlich–Mysteriös. Geheimbünde in Österreich (2005) (original) (raw)

and Franz Winter. 2023. "Religious Studies Scholars in Austria and the Issue of Religion. Approaches, Approximations, and Definitions." In Lukas K. Pokorny, ed. Religion in Austria, Volume 8. Vienna: Praesens Verlag, 189–209.

The aim of this article is to give an overview of the views and paths taken in relation to the “issue of religion” by Religious Studies scholars in Austria. Only scholars who currently hold professorial positions at Austrian universities or who have retired in recent years from such were selected for this overview. Among them are thirteen individuals from the Universities of Vienna, Graz, and Salzburg, the Private University College of Teacher Education Augustinum in Graz, and the University College of Christian Churches of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems. Whereas definitional approaches vary notably, agreement is found among scholars not to dismiss the definitional project within Religious Studies. Moreover, many scholars highlight the notion of “transcendence” in their understanding of religion.

2021. Religion in Austria: An Annotated Bibliography of 2020 Scholarship. In: Hans Gerald Hödl, Astrid Mattes, and Lukas Pokorny, eds. Religion in Austria, Volume 6. Vienna: Praesens Verlag, 245–309.

An estimated 1.5 to two million Alevis live in Europe outside of Turkey, of which circa 700,000 are based in Germany and some 60,000 to 100,000 in Austria. Whereas in Turkey estimates indicate up to fifteen to twenty million Alevis, they have not received any formal acknowledgement by the authorities. In Austria, there are several competing Alevi organisations. One, the

Contention and Discontent Surrounding Religion in Austria

Religion played an important role in Austria during the noughties. Historically, the Catholic church has played a dominant role in society, but all the three majors religions recognized in the country through a precise legal framework have recently been at the centre of major controversies in the public sphere. A study of these developments leads to the conclusion that the issues of Islam and migration will probably constitute the greatest challenges and the major topics in public discourse over the coming ten years.

Austria’s Conversion to Christianity

Perichoresis

It is not until the 11th century AD that we can speak of Austria being a thoroughly Christian country (Romanowski 1994: 57). This is all the more astonishing when one considers that even before the turn of the first century most of what is today Austria was part of the Roman Empire and how quickly Christianity spread to other parts of the Roman Empire. But how did the Christianization of Austria come about in the first place? Who were the bearers of mission? What strategies were used? Is the term ‘missionary work’ appropriate at all or was it not rather a superficial, politically motivated Christianization? These questions are to be investigated and answered in the following article.