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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), September 1827, Edition 1 of 1, Page 680

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      especially denies the church's right to constrain the opinions of any one . In Austria a man may pass from one Christian sect to another , tolerated by law , with certain precautions , having in view to ascertain that he does so by free-will and full knowledge ; and it is strictly recommended to the members of different faiths mutually to respect each other , and to live in peace and harmony . The schools are so regulated that youths of different persuasions have their appropriate instructions in religious matters , and have in common those branches which are independent of religious belief .

      The religious concerns of the Protestants in Austria are managed by two consistories , constituted and approved by the sovereign , one for the confession of Augsburg , the other for the Reformed Churches of Germany and Bohemia . All pastors are confirmed by these consistories . Of these pastors , some , called elders , are superiors , and preside over the provincial assemblies . The Catholic church , being the most numerous , has greater and peculiar privileges , such as those of bells , steeples , and public entrances fronting

      squares and streets . The parochial registers are kept by them , to which the Protestant clergy send certificates of the marriages , &c . performed by them , for registration . Towards Catholic processions , &c , the Protestants must pay respect or withdraw ; and the Catholic clergy , on the other hand , are bound to abstain from all insulting and ' satirical expressions . Protestant children attending Catholic schools are allowed to retire when the Catholic catechism is heard . Where the Protestants have no burying-ground they are to be buried in the Catholic grounds without any peculiar rites , and the

      nearest Protestant minister must be invited to accompany the corpse . The banns of marriage of Protestants are published both in the Catholic church and their own place of worship . The Protestants are not compelled to contribute to the reparation or maintenance of the Catholic churches . Their pastors perform all rites for them , giving immediate notice to the Catholic priest of the district , that they may be duly registered . If there be no resident Protestant pastor , the Catholic

      priest baptizes , marries , &c . If the Protestants have schools of their own , they are then under no obligation to contribute to the Catholic schools . It is a duty incumbent on every Catholic parish-priest to be carefully vigilant that the laws of toleration be accurately observed ; he is bound to conciliate differences- if they arise ; to prevent useless disputes ; to report on proper occasions all contested matters to the public authorities for their decision , and , at the same time , to provide them with all the requisite proofs and documents .

      Such is an outline of the singular system of Austrian regulation of ecclesiastical matters . It is obviously a code of despotic policy , in which the interests and views of the state are the basis of every thing ; but it will have been seen that this policy bears with it a considerable portion of what is sensible and enlightened ; that the government takes some pains to make ^ very one do his duty , and confine himself to his proper sphere ; and is in no way disposed to lend itself either to the bigotry of fanatics or the hypocritical zeal of a corrupt hierarchy .

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      i > 8 i ) Review— -Catholicism in Austria .

  • Citation
    • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1827, page 680, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1800/page/48/