THE CHURCH IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR: THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN UKRAINIAN SOCIETY AFTER 2014


DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2520-2626/2025.37.13

Yaroslav HORBAL

Abstract


The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of transformational processes within the church-religious sphere of Ukraine after 2014 under conditions of Russian military aggression. The dynamics of religious self-identification among the population have been studied, which showed an increase in support for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from 23.4% in 2021 to 56.7% in 2024 and a significant decrease in adherence to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate from 12.8% to 3.2%. The transformation of the functional role of religious institutions, which have become active participants in national resistance through the organization of volunteer centers, humanitarian aid and the development of military chaplaincy, has been analyzed. The processes of digitalization of religious life are considered when worship services and spiritual practices massively moved to the online space, forming new models of church communication. The regional specificity of religious transformations is highlighted, where western regions demonstrated a rapid reorientation towards the autocephalous church, while eastern regions experienced more complex processes of changing confessional identity. Interfaith relations during wartime have been studied, characterized by increased ecumenical cooperation in the humanitarian sphere while maintaining canonical contradictions. Changes in state-church relations in the context of ensuring national security and the issue of correlation between religious freedom and counteracting the use of religious structures in hybrid warfare are analyzed. The theological reflections of war experience, the formation of Ukrainian liberation theology and the rethinking of traditional religious values in the context of the struggle for state sovereignty are examined. Prospects for further research on the religious sphere in the post-conflict period have been identified, particularly the processes of spiritual reintegration of de-occupied territories and the formation of a new model of church-society relations.

Keywords


religious identity; Orthodox Church of Ukraine; war in Ukraine; digitalization of religion; military chaplaincy; interfaith relations; state-church relations; religious transformation

References


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