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We invite atheists to become members of the Atheist Religious Society in Austria.
Membership is free of charge and is not connected with any unpleasant obligations. It offers the possibility to participate in an interesting, world-view-related project with religious dimensions.
Furthermore, every single membership is an effective way to support the intention of the Atheist Religious Society of reaching the status of a state-registered religious denominational community, which requires at least 300 members with legal residence in Austria.
We are well aware of the problem that belonging to the Atheist Religious Society can pose a challenge to some members in their social environment. For that reason, we (in accordance with § 8 section 3 of our Statutes) will handle every membership confidentially.
How can I become a member?
If you have a legal residence in Austria, if you have reached the age of full religious maturity (according to § 5 of the Austrian Federal Law on the Religious Upbringing of Children an age of least 14 years), and if you are neither a member of a state-registered religious denominational community nor of a legally recognized church or religious society, then it is, principally, very simple. You just need to fill out the membership application form, to sign it personally or with a legally valid digital signature, and then to send it to the Presidium.
We have prepared several possibilities for joining us via a membership application form. Our online input mask generates a completely filled-out membership application form as a PDF document. If you prefer to fill it out by hand, you can download it here: membership application form
When you sign the membership application form by hand, please send it to our postal address:
Wilfried Apfalter
Webgasse 43/26
1060 Wien (1060 Vienna, Austria)
Please attach a copy of an official photo identity document or ID* or have your signature certified by a notary or by court.
It is also possible to sign the membership application form with a legally valid digital signature via a citizen card or mobile signature. Send the signed document to praesidium@atheistisch.at (Hint: you can also encrypt this mail via PGP/GnuPG.
As soon as we receive the form the membership becomes effective and we will send you a verification e-mail to the e-mail address provided in the application form.
We are happy to help you with the transmission of the form. Upon request, we are also willing to pick up the validly filled out original form within the Viennese area (for example at your place of residence or at an agreed meeting point…) personally. Should you, at the time being, have no access to a printer, we will be glad to send you the membership application form (in a neutral envelope) via mail.
What obligations do I have as a member?
In principle, you have only very few obligations – you are obliged to virtually nothing. Membership in the Atheist Religious Society should be a personal voluntarily and unconstrained matter for every ARG-member.
Certain obligations result from the fact that you, when acting as a member of the Atheist Religious Society, are bound to the Statutes.
The following restriction applies for legal reasons: members of the Atheist Religious Society must not be a member in any other legally recognized church or religious society or in any other state-registered religious denominational community. This restriction applies because of requirements specified in the Austrian Federal Law on the Legal Status of Religious Denominational Communities (BGBl. I 1998/19 as amended in the currently effective version).
A certain obligation also applies if you declare yourself living in accordance with the vegetarian, vegan, and/or pacifist rite. In such a case, you are actually bound to that rite. However, that obligation basically exists only towards yourself, and you can revoke your decision at any time.
When you have been a member of the Atheist Religious Society already before 15 March 2016, we would invite you to read, sign and send us the additional declaration form.
For organizational reasons in view of our forthcoming legal procedure of registration with the Office for Religious Affairs, we would like to make the following request to you: If you are already a member and change your place of legal residence, please inform us about that change so that we will be able to provide the Office for Religious Affairs within the framework of our legal procedure for registration with data that is as up-to-date as possible.
In particular, when you temporarily or permanently give up your place of residence in Austria (for example when you move your place of residence to another country abroad), we ask you to inform us. This is important, given that the Office for Religious Affairs, when examining if we have at least 300 members, will only accept members with a legal residence in Austria. Your membership will stay active even if you give up your legal residence in Austria.
Canceling of membership
Of course, at any time you are free to cancel your ARG-membership. To this end an informal e-mail or letter/mail, personally signed by your own hand or signed with a legally valid digital signature, is sufficient. This non-bureaucratic possibility of membership cancelation will continue to exist when we already have acquired the legal status of a state-registered religious denominational community.
*e.g., a copy of your passport, driver’s license, ID card, student card etc. (all of this documents don´t need to be Austrian as long as your place of legal residence is in Austria)