The architecture of faith

A clear majority of Ukrainians are religious believers. The most popular religious holidays for Ukrainians are Christmas and Easter, while the Church for them is one of the few institutions in which the balance of trust continues to be positive. The only institutions that have outdone it in recent years are the volunteer movement and the Armed Forces. Ukraine’s religious environment is quite varied, but relatively small confessions such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism, and so on, are difficult to track through standard polling methods. Effectively, the dominant religious group is orthodox Christians. Moreover, they dominate in all macro-regions, except western ones, where Greek Catholics tend to dominate. However, since the wave of religious revival in the 1990s, all churches, without exception, face serious challenges. Despite the religiousness of Ukrainians, their respect has to be earned. Nor should any church expect state support.

Translated by Lidia Wolanskyj

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