A new study on religious attitudes among young people in Vienna has triggered fierce political debate in Austria after researchers found that a significant proportion of Muslim youths place religious rules above the country’s laws.
The study, commissioned by the City of Vienna and based on interviews with 1,200 people aged between 14 and 21, found that 41% of Muslim respondents agreed with the statement that the rules of their religion stand above Austrian law. Among Christian respondents, the figure was 21%.
Researchers also found that 46% of Muslim youths surveyed believed people should be prepared to “fight and die” for their faith, compared with 24% of Christians.
In addition, 65% said Islamic rules should apply strictly to all aspects of daily life, while more than half supported Muslim women wearing headscarves in public.
Study leader Kenan Güngör described the findings as “very worrying.” He said religion played a much more central role in shaping the identity of Muslim youths than it did among Christian groups, pointing to higher rates of prayer, fasting, and religious service attendance.
The report also highlighted differences in attitudes towards democracy and social values.
While 82% of Austrians surveyed viewed democracy as the best form of government, support was markedly lower among respondents with Syrian, Chechen, and Afghan backgrounds. Conservative views on gender roles and homosexuality were also more common among these groups.
The publication of the study comes days after new education data showed that Muslim pupils have become the largest religious group in Vienna’s public education schools.
According to figures from Vienna’s education authority for the 2025/26 school year, Muslims now account for 38.3% of pupils overall, rising to 42% in elementary schools and almost half of students in middle schools.
The findings prompted strong reactions from Austria’s right-wing opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ). MEP Harald Vilimsky wrote on X that his party had “warned about this for decades”, adding that “Sharia has now become entrenched in Europe.”
Wir haben jahrzehntelang davor gewarnt. Wurden beschimpft und verleumdet. Jetzt ist die Scharia in EUropa verfestigt. #PATRIOTShttps://t.co/HdJp10RoOY
Meanwhile, Vienna FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp described the results as “an alarm signal for the whole of Austria” and blamed the situation on decades of failed migration and integration policies under the city’s Social Democratic leadership.
Zoltán Kottász is a journalist for europeanconservative.com, based in Budapest. He worked for many years as a journalist and as the editor of the foreign desk at the Hungarian daily, Magyar Nemzet. He focuses primarily on European politics.
Islam is a Geo Political movement disguised as a religion. Christianity is a religion. The 10 Commandments are the basic Laws of Christianity. Sharia violates God’s Laws.
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Islam is a Geo Political movement disguised as a religion. Christianity is a religion. The 10 Commandments are the basic Laws of Christianity. Sharia violates God’s Laws.