80% of surveyed Ukrainians support the law banning the activities of religious organizations connected to Russia, and 16% — do not. Another 4% of respondents did not define their position.
This is evidenced by the results of a study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
In all regions, the absolute majority of Ukrainians support the adopted law. In the east of Ukraine, the percentage of support is somewhat lower than in the western and central regions. KIIS notes that it is about the following indicators: from 71% in the east to 83% in the west.
Among the surveyed Ukrainians, 70% consider themselves Orthodox. Among them, 56% belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), 7% to the Orthodox Church "without specification", another 6% to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP). The rest of Ukrainians consider themselves atheists (12%) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
In all regions, the majority of surveyed citizens identify themselves as Orthodox OCUs. At the same time, KIIS says that there are still certain regional peculiarities. From west to east, the share of those who consider themselves to be "merely Orthodox" increases from 6% to 15%. And in the western regions, for example, 20% of surveyed citizens identify themselves as Greek Catholics. In other regions, this indicator does not exceed 1%.
In the east, the percentage of those who consider themselves Protestants or believers of other Christian churches is higher, 11% compared to 3-4% in the central and southern regions of the country. At the same time, the center and the south have the most atheists — 15% and 14%, respectively. In the West and East — 7% and 11%, respectively. The largest number of atheists among surveyed Ukrainians aged 18-29 — 20%. And among 30-69-year-olds — 10-11%, among people aged 70+ — 8%.
Creation of a single Orthodox Church
The majority of survey respondents — 61% — support the idea of a single Orthodox Church in Ukraine. 16% do not support, and for another 20% this issue is indifferent. The level of support decreases from west to east. If in the west 71% support it, then the indicator drops to 45%. In the eastern regions, they do not support it — 20%, others are mostly indifferent.
If we talk about the idea of a single Orthodox Church in Ukraine, the majority of surveyed Ukrainians support its implementation so that the priests of the UOC MP join the OCU and become part of it. A total of 71% of respondents have decided on their opinion on this issue. Among them, the majority — 78% — supported this approach in general (in terms of the entire population, this is 55%). The majority of surveyed citizens believe that such accession is possible only for those who have no ties to Russia (47% among all respondents and 66% among those who have made up their mind on this issue).
Prohibition of the UOC MP in Ukraine
On September 23, 2024, the law banning the activity of churches connected with Russia entered into force in Ukraine.
The law stipulates that the activities of foreign religious organizations that simultaneously meet the following criteria are prohibited on the territory of Ukraine:
- are located (whose administrative center is located) in a state that is recognized as having carried out or is carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine and/or temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine;
- directly or indirectly (including through public speeches of leaders or other management bodies) support armed aggression against Ukraine.
At the same time, a number of provisions of the law will enter into force later. In particular, the communities of the UOC MP still have seven months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. After the end of this term, the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience will be able to apply to the court with a claim to terminate the activities of religious organizations that still have such connections at that time.
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