Half of Young Austrians Never Attend Church; Poll Shows 20 Percent Attend on a Regular Basis

The Austrian Times website reports today (April 26, 2011) that -- according to a new poll -- one in two young Austrians never goes to church.

Public opinion agency Karmasin -- which questioned 500 Austrians for the study -- found that 50 percent of Austrians aged 30 and younger never attend Catholic masses.

The research also shows that 35 percent of all Austrians never go to church, while one in five said they were attending masses "on a regular basis."

Only 65 percent of the 8.5 million people living in Austria are Catholics -- down from 89 percent in 1961.