Humanist Association Austria

The Humanist Association Austria (German: Humanistischer Verband Österreich, HVÖ) is an Austrian secular, laicist and freethinker organization based in Vienna. It presents itself as a worldview community and a civil-society actor: its website states that humanism is not only a worldview but also a social mandate for action, and it campaigns on human rights, democracy, digital humanism, secularism, women's rights and self-determination. The association is composed largely of atheists and agnostics and commits itself to the Enlightenment, humanism and human rights. It practices criticism of religion and rejects religious, magical or esoteric models of explaining the world. Its declared priorities are the representation of secular-humanist interests, the separation of state and religion, the abolition of what it regards as privileges of religious communities, and the promotion of a rational worldview — notably through the demand for compulsory ethics teaching at all school types and levels, pursued via the initiative ethics4all.at. Following German and Anglo-Saxon models, the association offers humanist ceremonies for life events and organizes events on humanist themes, including self-determined end of life (assisted dying), women's emancipation and equality, and LGBTQ matters. It also plans courses to train humanist funeral orators. The organization's lineage reaches back to the 1887 founding in Vienna of the Verein der Konfessionslosen (Association of the Non-Confessional), which expanded under several renamings and stood close to liberals and social democrats. Its successor in the First Republic, the Österreichischer Freidenkerbund, had around 65,000 members, largely sympathetic to the SPÖ and partly to the KPÖ; a KPÖ-leaning split occurred in 1930. Under Austrofascism the Freidenkerbund was banned in June 1933 by emergency decree as the first social-democratic cultural organization to be prohibited. A re-founding followed in 1948, though the SPÖ interior minister Oskar Helmer refused recognition as legal successor to the pre-war organization, so confiscated association assets were not returned. In 1970 an extraordinary federal general assembly resolved to dissolve the Freidenkerbund Österreichs and transfer it into the Institut für Geistesfreiheit und wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung. In 1978, under Richard Klucsarits, the Freidenkerbund (FDBÖ) was founded anew as a party-politically independent organization with the byname "Institut für wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung". In 2007 the Upper Austrian regional group split off as the Allianz für Humanismus und Atheismus, which in 2024 re-integrated into the HVÖ as its Upper Austrian regional association. Since June 2018 the organization has been called Humanistischer Verband Österreich. Gerhard Engelmayer was president from 2012; since July 2025 Balázs Bárán has led the association. The HVÖ maintains a modest public profile. According to Joachim Riedl, organized opponents of religion are perceived as sectarians in an increasingly secularized Austrian society, in which belief sceptics are as indifferent to them as to the churches; a 2007 demonstration against the Pope's visit to Austria could mobilize only about 150 participants. The association's federal organ, since 1978 Der Freidenker – Geist und Gesellschaft, later briefly freidenkerIn and then freidenker, appeared quarterly, then annually as an HVÖ activity report in 2020/21, and since 2022 monthly, with content increasingly published via the German Humanistischer Pressedienst. On 30 November 2019 the HVÖ organized Austria's First Humanist Congress at the University of Vienna under the theme "Ethik ohne Gott", with international speakers, presenting the association's new priorities and goals.

The Humanist Association Austria (Humanistischer Verband Österreich, HVÖ) traces its organizational lineage to the 1887 founding in Vienna of the Verein der Konfessionslosen (Association of the Non-Confessional). The association expanded under several renamings into other parts of German Austria and stood close to liberals and social democrats. Its first chairman, the physician and writer Erwin Plowitz, had to resign under official pressure and hand over to Josef Langkammer in 1887. In 1889 the case and cardboard manufacturer Gustav Häfner took over the chair; in 1891 the social-democratic Reichsrat deputy Ludwig Wutschel became chairman for 30 years. In 1893 the association was renamed Verein der Freidenker Nieder-Österreichs and became one of the most important champions of the Social Democrats' cultural and socio-political goals, focusing on the school question and marriage law, in sharp opposition to the Catholic Church. Its newsletter first appeared in 1895 as Mittheilungen des Vereines der Freidenker Nieder-Oesterreichs and was renamed Der Freidenker in 1903. In 1905 the associated Verein Freie Schule advocated rolling back church influence on public schooling. In the First Republic the successor organization was the Österreichischer Freidenkerbund, with around 65,000 members, predominantly sympathetic to the SPÖ and partly to the KPÖ; in 1930 a KPÖ-leaning split occurred. Under the clerical Austrofascism the Freidenkerbund was banned in June 1933 by emergency decree as the first social-democratic cultural organization to be prohibited. A re-founding took place in 1948, but the SPÖ interior minister Oskar Helmer refused to recognize it as legal successor to the pre-war organization, so the association did not recover its confiscated assets. The SPÖ's distancing from the Freidenkerbund resulted from consideration for its church-friendly coalition partner, the ÖVP. On 12 December 1970 an extraordinary federal general assembly resolved to dissolve the Freidenkerbund Österreichs and transfer it into the Institut für Geistesfreiheit und wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung. In 1978, under the leadership of Richard Klucsarits, the Freidenkerbund (FDBÖ) was founded anew as a party-politically independent organization with the byname "Institut für wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung". Klucsarits, an SPÖ archivist, led the association until 1985 and spied for the Eastern Bloc secret services Sbor národní bezpečnosti (Czechoslovakia) and Államvédelmi Hatóság (Hungary). In 2007 the Upper Austrian regional group split off from the FDBÖ and became independent as the Allianz für Humanismus und Atheismus; in 2024 that alliance re-integrated into the Humanistischer Verband Österreich and became its Upper Austrian regional association. The Freidenkerverband led a rather shadowy existence. According to Joachim Riedl, the reason is that in an increasingly secularized Austrian society organized opponents of religion are perceived as sectarians, to whom belief sceptics are as indifferent as to the churches. For example, the FDBÖ could mobilize only about 150 participants for a demonstration against the Pope's visit to Austria in 2007. Gerhard Engelmayer was president of the Freidenkerbund from 2012. Since June 2018 the association has been called Humanistischer Verband Österreich. Since July 2025 Balázs Bárán has led the association as president. The association's federal organ was called Der Freidenker – Geist und Gesellschaft from 1978, then temporarily freidenkerIn, and later appeared quarterly as freidenker. In 2020/21 the freidenker appeared only annually as the HVÖ's activity report; in 2022 it switched to monthly publication, and content is increasingly published via the German Humanistischer Pressedienst. On 30 November 2019 the HVÖ organized Austria's First Humanist Congress at the University of Vienna under the theme "Ethik ohne Gott", with international participation of speakers from home and abroad, which also presented the association's new priorities and goals.

• 2025

  Since July Balázs Bárán leads the association as president.

• 2024

  The Allianz für Humanismus und Atheismus re-integrates into the Humanistischer Verband Österreich and becomes its Upper Austrian regional association.

• 2019

  On 30 November the First Humanist Congress Austria is held at the University of Vienna under the theme "Ethik ohne Gott".

• 2018

  Since June the association is called Humanistischer Verband Österreich.

• 2012

  Gerhard Engelmayer becomes president of the Freidenkerbund.

• 2007

  The Upper Austrian regional group splits off from the FDBÖ and becomes independent as the Allianz für Humanismus und Atheismus.

• 1978

  Under Richard Klucsarits the Freidenkerbund (FDBÖ) is founded anew as a party-politically independent organization with the byname "Institut für wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung".

• 1970

  On 12 December an extraordinary federal general assembly resolves to dissolve the Freidenkerbund Österreichs and transfer it into the Institut für Geistesfreiheit und wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung.

• 1948

  Re-founding of the association; the SPÖ interior minister Oskar Helmer refuses recognition as legal successor to the pre-war organization.

• 1933

  Under Austrofascism the Freidenkerbund is banned in June by emergency decree as the first social-democratic cultural organization to be prohibited.

• 1905

  The Verein Freie Schule is formed, advocating the rollback of church influence on public schooling.

• 1903

  The newspaper is renamed Der Freidenker.

• 1895

  The association's newsletter first appears as Mittheilungen des Vereines der Freidenker Nieder-Oesterreichs.

• 1893

  Renamed Verein der Freidenker Nieder-Österreichs; becomes a leading champion of Social Democratic cultural and socio-political goals.

• 1887

  On 20 February the Verein der Konfessionslosen is founded at the Hotel Englischer Hof in Mariahilf, Vienna.

• 1869

  The theologian Michael Biron founds the first freethinker association on Austrian soil in Graz; two years later he is expelled from the country.

Secular-humanist advocacy organization and worldview community promoting the separation of state and religion, human rights, and a rational worldview in Austria.

• Humanist ceremonies for life events

  Offered following German and Anglo-Saxon models.

• Humanist funeral orator training courses

  Planned courses to train as a humanist funeral orator.

• ethics4all.at initiative

  Campaign for compulsory ethics teaching at all school types and levels.

• freidenker publication

  Federal organ, since 2022 monthly, with content increasingly published via the German Humanistischer Pressedienst.

1. 1Humanistischer Verband Österreich – official websitehumanismus.at
2. 2Geschichte III – Humanistischer Verband Österreichhumanismus.at
3. 3Humanist Association Austria – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Humanistischer Verband Österreich – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org