Catholic Classes in Austria Are Now at Risk; Some 80,000 Austrians May quit Church in 2010

The Austrian Times website reports today (June 23, 2010) that right-wing opinion leaders are up in arms, as just two of 200-plus students at a Vienna school are Roman Catholics.

"Two hours of religious classes per week are part of the education plan for Viennese primary schools -- but only from 10 students and more," a district schools inspector said today.

Conservative media has stressed that most of the children at the school are Muslims. Dozens of schools of all types across Vienna have a comparable majority of Islamic students.

Meanwhile, the Austrian Roman Catholic Church's reputation has suffered dramatically over the past few months, as some 700 people came forward to report violent and sexual abuse at its institutions.

Fears are increasing that up to 80,000 Austrians will leave the Catholic Church by the end of 2010; more than 30,000 quit in just the first three months of 2010.