A-1080 Wien, Lammgasse 1
AUSTRIA
EUROPE
The “Hindu Religion Association in Austria (HRÖ)" is the official representative for all Hindus living in Austria. It serves to the collection of all, living in Austria as Citizens or Non-Citizens, and who profess to this religion.
The vision and mission of HRÖ is to:
1. Bring all Hindus living in Austria under its umbrella, serve them and provide opportunities to them to learn about Hindu heritage and culture;
2. Advocate the teachings of the scriptures and its principals, eg: Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah (धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः), meaning Dharma, when preserved and protected, protects you; and principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्) meaning, "The World Is One Family"
3. Raise awareness on issues affecting Hindus and work with Governement agencies in finding solutions;
In 1980, the Bengali Dr. Bimal Kundu founded the first religious group of Hindus, predominantly from the Indian subcontinent, which exists to date. Dr. Kundu ran a small temple in the Afro-Asian Institute and, as a priest, he also conducted pujas and other religious rites.
Under his leadership, in 1990, the Hindu Mandir Association (HMA) was founded, from which the Hindu Religious Association in Austria or Hinduistische Religionsgesellschaft in Österreich (HRÖ) emerged as a registered denominational community in 1998 through the initiative of the then President Mag. Mukundrai Joshi. This allowed Hindu Religious groups in Austria to possess legal status for first time.
HRÖ already acquired legal personality as a state-registered religious community in 1998 and ever since Hindus in Austria are practising their religion in several places of worship. Regarding the legal framework our aim for the future is to get the status of a legally recognized religious society and associated rights, which needs inter alia a number of members of 0,2% of the country's population (approx.18.000). According to the 2021 census, there were 10,100 self-professed Hindus in Austria. On the other hand, leading people in the various groups estimate the number to be several thousand, although by no means all of them are official members of the HRÖ.
In 2023, a court appointed curator held elections in which about 500+ voters voted and elected the new Executive Committee.
(1) Assist Hindus in practicing their faith and associated rituals, while adhering to the existing local laws.
(2) Provide its members the religious affiliation certificate. The right of issue of this certificate lies only with HRO owing to its sole legitimation.
(3) Promote and participate in interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Hindus and members of other religions.
(4) Represent Austrian Hindus in Broadcast media (TV, radio), Print media (Newspapers, magazines) etc
(5) Represent Hindus or Hinduism in public life i.e in schools, hospitals, offices etc.
The HRÖ's constituion can be downloaded from here
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