The Catholic Church’s Right to Self-Determination
How Do State Laws and Court Rulings Relate to the Catholic Church’s Right to Self-Determination under Article 15 of the State Constitution Act (StGG)?
Research Occasion
The question of whether state laws and court rulings take precedence over the Church’s right to self-determination is currently being addressed in legal proceedings in Belgium. The case is determining whether an individual may request the deletion of their personal data from the baptismal register on the basis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A request for a preliminary ruling on this matter has been pending before the European Court of Justice since 9 January 2025. The outcome of the preliminary ruling proceedings and of the court proceedings in Belgium will also have implications for Austria, as the EU-wide GDPR applies here too.
Research Objective
This specific court case provides an opportunity to examine the Catholic Church’s right to self-determination. In particular, the 1933 Concordat, freedom of religion, the legal guarantee granted to the Catholic Church to regulate its internal affairs itself, and the separation of church and state all play a role here.
Should the state order the deletion of data from the baptismal register, this would also raise theological, administrative and canon law issues for the practice of the Catholic Church. These relate to the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church, baptism in its administrative and constitutional dimensions, the procedures for leaving and rejoining the Church, and the possible concrete implications of the judgement in the Belgian court case.
This thesis aims to answer these questions and develop proposed solutions for dealing with the deletion of entries from the baptismal register.
Research Questions
- Which internal affairs of the churches in Austria, and of the Catholic Church in particular, are protected by the right to self-determination? Does the keeping of the baptismal register fall within this scope?
- What are the consequences for the Catholic Church if there is no proof of baptism?
- How is leaving the Church assessed under canon law? How can people without proof of baptism rejoin the Church?
- What implications does the judgment of the court proceedings in Belgium have for administrative procedures within the Catholic Church?
Research Methods
The dissertation will draw on primary literature (fundamental rights, GDPR, CIC), secondary literature, the findings of the preliminary ruling proceedings, research visits to Belgium for the purpose of conducting interviews and monitoring the Belgian court proceedings.
Literature
Esterbauer, Reinhold/Grabenwarter, Christoph/Pabel, Katharina, 100 Jahre Trennung von Staat und Kirche, Manz 2019.
Grabenwarter, Christoph/Frank, Stefan Leo, B-VG Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz und Grundrechte, Manz 22025.
Güthoff, Elmar, Der Kirchenaustritt im staatlichen und kirchlichen Recht, Freiburg/Wien 2011.
Knyrim, Rainer, Der DatKomm, Manz 2026.
Tollkühn, Martina, Das Recht auf Information und den Schutz der Privatsphäre. Eine kanonistische Studie zur Geltung von c. 220 CIC/1983 in kirchlichen Beschäftigungsverhältnissen, Aschendorff Verlag 2020.
Supervisor
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sabine Konrad
Department of Practical Theology
Doctoral Candidate
MMag. Johanna Sofie Berger
johanna.berger@student.uibk.ac.at
