Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

is a

minority religion A minority religion is a religion held by a Minority group, minority of the population of state or which is otherwise politically marginalized. Minority religions may be subject to Social stigma, stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is ...

constituting about 0.15% of the population of Austria. Hinduism is not one of the 16 recognised religions in Austria. The Austrian law allows religious groups not recognized as societies to seek official status as confessional communities with the Office for Religious Affairs. Hinduism is one of the eight confessional communities in Austria. However, the

Sahaja Yoga Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a new religious movement founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). Nirmala Srivastava is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (trans: ''Revered Immaculate Mother'') or simply as "Mother" by her follo ...

and the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by ...

are categorised as associations, not as confessional communities.

History

In 1980 the Bengali Bimal Kundu founded the first Hindu religious society in Austria, for Hindus immigrating from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. He now runs a small temple, located at a room in the Afro-Asian Institute. Since 1998, the "Hindu Religious Society in Austria" is (hroe) as "state-registered confessional community" official representative for all Hindus. It is one of eleven religious groups that constitute confessional communities according to the Austrian Law on the Status of Religious Confessional Communities. It is not yet a legally recognised religion, and therefore is not eligible for support from the state, however they may be eligible for this after 20 years of existence.

Demographics

As of 2017, Hinduism constitute 0.15% of the population of Austria. There are about 11,000 Hindus in Austria.

Hindu groups in Austria

*Hindu Mandir Association is one of the oldest organisation in Vienna. Established in 1991 has a yearly Krishna Janmaashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali Mela festival & Bhagwati Jagran. In 2006, it applied for the status of religious confessional community but soon withdrew their applications and reapplied under the name Hindu Religious Community and was granted the new status. *

ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 ...

, more commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement has three centres in Austria, all located in Vienna: **East of Eden, **Govinda, ** ISKCON Center for Vedic Studies. *The Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission has established a

mandir A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedica ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, which has a yearly Krishna Janmaashtami festival. * Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU), a new age neo-Hindu spiritual organisation has three centres in Austria, located in Vienna,

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and Rankweil. *The Osho movement, Sahaja Yoga, Sai Baba, Sri Chinmoy also have a small presence. Along with Hare Krishna they are categorised as "sects". The term "sects" is used by the Government to denote small organizations with fewer than 100 members. Only the Hindu Religious Community has more than 100 members, and is the only Hindu organisation that constitutes one of the "confessional communities " in Austria.United States Department of State
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References

External links

Hindu Mandir AssociationHindu community in Austria (HRÖ)Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir
(In German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austria Religion in Austria

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

History

Demographics

Hindu groups in Austria

See also

References

External links