Austria is also legally bound to recognize the right of freedom of religion through its participation in the OSCE, and its adherence to the European Convention of Human Rights. I would like to suggest that the right of religious freedom cannot, however, be separated from the issue of the legal status of religious communities, or official and un-official bias against particular religious communities and practices. The Methodist Church in Austria came to Austria in 1870, and opened its first assembly in 1875. A chronology of Austrian Methodism published in 1921 details incidents of government action against Methodists taken despite the supposed guarantees of the 1867 constitution. Sunday School and open worship forbidden.
Police forbid closed assemblies and prayers.
Methodist pastor convicted for giving a child a Methodist tract. And so on. Only in 1956 were the Methodists officially recognized by the Austrian state so that they could feel secure in their community life. Clearly constitutional guarantees meant little apart from official recognition as a religion or church. Naturally the modern situation is somewhat different from that before the Second World War.