Politischer Katholizismus#

Political Catholicism: the term refers to "those groups and forces who consciously endeavour to actively influence social and political life out of their sense of responsibility as Catholics" (K. Forster). After the severance of the close ties between church and state in the 19th  century, the liberal fundamental right of assembly and association enabled the Church to play an effective role in modern secularised society even though it could no longer rely on the authority of the state. In the second half of the 19th  century the church in Austria was confronted by opposition from liberal, nationalist and social-democratic groups and parties. To counteract this opposition, the Catholic-conservative movement was founded around 1870, and in 1890/91 the Christian Social Party developed out of a number of Catholic societies; the party developed into a mass party around the turn of the century and strongly influenced Austria's development during the First Republic. Although political Catholicism played a major role in the First Republic (Prelate I. Seipel), this political direction was not continued in a comparable form in the Second Republic, neither by the Oesterreichische Volkspartei (Austrian People's Party) nor by any other political group.

Literature#