Majority of Austrians want schools to retain Christian festivals, survey shows

A survey in Austria has revealed overwhelming support for visible and communal expressions of Christianity in public life.

The findings of the survey, presented on 19 August by Austria’s Minister for Family and Integration, Claudia Plakolm, also highlight a sharp divide between maintaining cultural tradition and adhering to a personal faith.

Conducted by the OGM Institute, a Vienna-based private research institute founded in 1976, and drawing on the answers of more than 1,000 respondents, the study revealed that 79 per cent of Austrians want Christian festivals such as St. Nicholas Day, Easter and St. Martin’s Day to be celebrated in schools, while 69 per cent favour keeping crosses in classrooms.

The survey’s chief researcher, Johannes Klotz, explained the significance of these findings, noting the persistence of a broad cultural identification with Christianity even in an increasingly secular society.

“There is a clear commitment to Christianity as a cultural heritage and to Christian holidays, even among those who are not Christians themselves,” Klotz said, as reported by Katholish.de.

He added that while it appears that "religious belief and church attendance have declined sharply in Austria over recent decades, Christian festivals continue to command popular support as shared traditions that shape national identity".

Despite this cultural attachment, though, religion plays a far smaller role in the personal value system of most Austrians, the survey’s findings suggest.

Respondents consistently named family cohesion, freedom and security as their top priorities, reports Vienna.at. Courtesy in daily interactions, environmental awareness and a strong work ethic were also highlighted.

At the same time, preservation of traditions, while mentioned frequently as something “typically Austrian", was personally important to only 39 per cent of respondents, a gap that reflects differences between rural and urban populations.

When asked to name core values, only 8 per cent of respondents cited “faith and religion” as personally important.

By contrast, family cohesion ranked highest at 58 per cent, followed by self-determination at 54 per cent and security at 48 per cent.

Trust in religious communities has also weakened, standing at just 28 percent. Moreover, 85 per cent of Austrians agree that state law must take precedence over religious rules, and practices such as withdrawing children from swimming lessons for religious reasons are widely rejected.

Klotz described many of those findings as “ambivalent", pointing to the way Austrians combine a love of independence with a preference for social safety nets such as collective agreements and public housing.

When it comes to national integration, the survey revealed near unanimity: over 90 per cent of respondents agreed that immigrants unwilling to learn German, the country's offical language, or to adopt Austria’s basic values should live elsewhere.

The results suggest that cultural traditions, particularly those rooted in Christianity, are regarded as important benchmarks of belonging, even by a society in which personal religious belief is now marginal.

In that sense, Christianity appears to be valued less as a personal creed and more as a marker of national and cultural identity – a shared inheritance that defines what it means to belong.

All in all, the results indicate that Christianity remains firmly anchored as a cultural heritage in Austria, even among those who do not practise the faith themselves.

Photo: Easter eggs for decoration are displayed for sale at the Freyung Easter Market at Freyung Square ahead of the Easter weekend, Vienna, Austria, 17 April 2025. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images.)