Religion in Austria
Catholicism is the largest religion in Austria, representing 57.9% of the total population in 2017. The Catholic Church's governing body in Austria is the Austrian Conference of Catholic Bishops, made up of the hierarchy of the two archbishops (Wien, Salzburg), the bishops and the abbot of territorial abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau. Nevertheless, each bishop is independent in his own diocese, answerable only to the Pope. The current president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Schönborn belongs to the Central European noble family of Schönborn. Although Austria has no primate, the archbishop of Salzburg is titled "Primus Germaniae" (Primate of Germany).
Hinduism in Austria
In 1980 the Bengali Bimal Kundu founded the first Hindu religious society in Austria, for Hindus immigrating from the Indian subcontinent. He now runs a small temple, located at a room in the Afro-Asian Institute.Since 1998, the "Hindu Religious Society in Austria" is (hroe) as "state-registered confessional community" official representative for all Hindus. . It is one of eleven religious groups that constitute confessional communities according to the Austrian Law on the Status of Religious Confessional Communities. It is not yet a legally recognised religion, and therefore is not eligible for support from the state, however they may be eligible for this after 20 years of existence.