How Russia Twists Religion to Justify War: The Fake Narrative of Persecution in Ukraine
Russian propaganda actively spreads fake news about alleged religious persecution in Ukraine to justify its aggression. In reality, Ukraine guarantees freedom of conscience, and restrictions apply only to organizations that support the Russian Federation's war or threaten national security.
The Kremlin Uses “Hybrid” Rhetoric to Justify Aggression
To justify its aggression (and not only against Ukraine), the Kremlin has long used rhetoric about the alleged existence of certain communities in various countries, primarily post-Soviet ones, that are allegedly oppressed on ethnic, linguistic, or religious grounds, and therefore Russia allegedly has to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries solely to protect the rights of such communities, which, depending on the context, Russian propaganda defines as “compatriots,” “Russian-speaking,” “Orthodox,” etc. To this end, Russia disseminates a blatantly distorted picture of the real situation in the information field. In fact, in this respect, Putin's regime is painfully reminiscent of Hitler's, which often used similar rhetoric to justify its aggression against other sovereign states.
Recently, Russian propaganda has been making titanic efforts to impose a blatantly false understanding of the processes taking place in the sphere of state-church and interfaith relations in Ukraine. Unfortunately, such a distorted view is often picked up even by reputable global media outlets as well as by some European and American politicians, resulting in frequent sensational headlines such as “Christians are being persecuted in Ukraine” and absurd statements that the Orthodox Church is allegedly banned in Ukraine.
Ukraine Guarantees Religious Freedom During the War
In fact, according to the Constitution and current legislation, every citizen of Ukraine is guaranteed the right to freedom of conscience. This right includes the freedom to have, accept, and change religion or beliefs of one's choice, and the freedom to practice any religion or no religion, individually or in community with others, to perform religious rites, and to openly express and freely disseminate one's religious or atheistic beliefs. The level of religious freedom is evidenced, in particular, by the number and diversity of religious organizations, of which there are currently more than 37,000 in Ukraine, representing more than 90 different denominations and movements. Most of them—97%—are Christian. Among Christian denominations, Orthodox (53.7%), Protestant (almost 29%), and Catholic (14.3%) prevail. In addition, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and various neo-religions are also represented.
Contrary to Russian propaganda claims, Ukrainian legislation on the activities of religious organizations is based on the same principles as in most democratic and legal states in the world,where the exercise of freedom of religion is subject only to those restrictions that are necessary to protect public safety and order, life, health, and morals, as well as the rights and freedoms of other citizens, as established by law.
Religious organizations, even in the most democratic states, are required to comply with the requirements of current legislation regardless of the content of their doctrine. In the event of a violation of the norms of current legislation, the activities of a religious organization may be restricted by the relevant state authorities in accordance with the procedure established by law. The basis for such a step may be, for example, the combination of ritual or preaching activities of a religious organization with an encroachment on the life, health, freedom, and dignity of individuals, or inciting citizens to fail to fulfill their constitutional duties, or actions accompanied by gross violations of public order or encroachment on the rights and property of state, public, or religious organizations, as stated in the decision of the European Parliament of February 12, 1996.
Moreover, Ukrainian legislation in the field of state-church and interfaith relations is in some respects significantly more liberal than in many other democratic states, including the European Union, where, for example, there are “state” (official) religions that have a certain privileged status, or where, as in the case of the Hungarian Law “On the Right to Freedom of Conscience and Religion, Churches, Religions, and Religious Organizations,” religious organizations must undergo a re-registration procedure through “burdensome, oppressive, and discriminatory administrative and legislative processes,” as noted in the relevant report by Human Rights Without Frontiers.
The Status of a Religious Organization in Democratic Countries does not Equal Immunity from the Law
Thus, in fact, even in the most democratic states, where a high level of religious freedom is guaranteed, there is still the possibility of restricting (prohibiting) the activities of certain religious organizations whose activities contradict national laws, promote violence and hatred, violate human rights, and, moreover, may destabilize civil society or threaten national security by using the status of a religious organization to cover up other, non-religious, activities.
In view of this, it seems entirely logical and natural to ban the activities in Ukraine of religious organizations that deny the state sovereignty of Ukraine, incite interethnic and interreligious hatred, call for the genocide of Ukrainians, the destruction of the Ukrainian language, culture, and identity, and the violent overthrow of the constitutional order in Ukraine, justify Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, praise Russian war crimes, and sanctify the weapons with which Russians commit these crimes.
It is on these grounds that the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations” prohibits the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. In particular, Article 3 of the aforementioned law states: “Given that the Russian Orthodox Church is an ideological continuation of the aggressor state's regime, an accomplice to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on behalf of the Russian Federation and the ideology of the ‘Russian world’, the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine are prohibited.”
In addition to the ROC, the activities of any other foreign religious organizations established in accordance with the legislation of another state that is recognized as having committed or committing armed aggression against Ukraine and directly or indirectly (including through public statements by leaders or other governing bodies) supporting armed aggression against Ukraine are prohibited in Ukraine. In this case, we are talking about any religious organization, regardless of its doctrine, which is registered and located on the territory of Russia and which supports armed aggression against Ukraine.
However, two other provisions of the above-mentioned law caused the greatest resonance.
According to paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations,” the activities of “religious organizations affiliated with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine” are prohibited in Ukraine. And according to Article 5 of this law, the activities of a religious organization in Ukraine may be suspended if it spreads the ideology of the “Russian world.”
Moreover, the law stipulates that the relevant decisions are not made arbitrarily by any authorized body, but exclusively by a court on the basis of a religious studies expert opinion, which must, in the first case, determine the affiliation of a particular religious organization with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine; and in the second case, to identify the spread and popularization of the ideology of the “Russian world,” which is understood as "the Russian neocolonial doctrine based on chauvinistic, Nazi, racist, xenophobic, religious ideas, images, and goals, the destruction of Ukraine, genocide of the Ukrainian people, non-recognition of the sovereignty of Ukraine and other states, which aims at the violent expansion of the Russian supranational imperial space as a way of realizing the special civilizational right of Russians to mass killings, state terrorism, military invasion of other states, occupation of territories, expansion of the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church beyond the territory of the Russian Federation.
This wording may in fact refer to the religious communities of one of the two Orthodox churches in Ukraine, namely the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The UOC denies its connection with the ROC, but according to the results of a religious studies expert examination approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture No. 37 of January 25, 2019, and based on the amendments made in 2018 to the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations,” the UOC should be called “the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in unity with the Russian Orthodox Church.” In January 2023, an expert group created by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience in accordance with the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated December 1, 2022, concluded that the UOC is a structural subdivision of the ROC. Thus, there are grounds to believe that the UOC is affiliated with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine.
In addition, there are numerous documented cases where priests of the UOC openly and publicly supported Russian aggression against Ukraine and spread chauvinistic, Nazi, racist, xenophobic, and religious ideas, calling for the destruction of Ukraine, genocide of the Ukrainian people, and non-recognition of Ukraine's sovereignty—that is, views that can be unmistakably identified as the ideology of the “Russian world.” In fact, the UOC used its status as a religious organization to cover up other, completely non-religious activities and to promote the political—imperial—interests of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
It should also be noted that, according to Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations,” the activities of a religious organization may be terminated by a court decision if its authorized persons are convicted of committing a crime against the foundations of Ukraine's national security or of committing a criminal offense under Articles 161, 190, 209, 258, 436–438, 442, and 447 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
It should also be emphasized that all citizens of Ukraine are equal before the law regardless of their religious or any other preferences and have the same rights and obligations, and violators of current legislation are prosecuted regardless of their worldview, ideological, or religious beliefs, since no one can evade their constitutional duties on the basis of their religious beliefs.
The Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for liability for public calls for violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power, as well as for the dissemination of materials calling for such actions. Intentional actions aimed at inciting national, regional, racial, or religious enmity and hatred, as well as at humiliating national honor and dignity, are also criminal offenses.
With the start of full-scale war, amendments were made to the Criminal Code of Ukraine that provide for punishment for various types of assistance to Russia. In particular, in March 2022, an article was added on justifying or denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as glorifying its participants. The Criminal Code of Ukraine also provides for liability for collaboration, which is understood as cooperation between citizens of the state and the enemy to further the interests of the enemy and cause harm to their own state. Obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations is also a criminal offense.
At the same time, it should be noted that membership in any religious organization is not a crime in itself and no one is held accountable for it. Similarly, professing the religious doctrine of any church is not a crime. Priests and believers are held criminally liable for actions that are in no way related to the profession of their religious beliefs or membership in a particular religious organization.
The operational and investigative activities of the Security Service of Ukraine aimed at identifying Russian agents should in no way be perceived as evidence of persecution of individual religious organizations, their clergy, and believers.
This is exclusively about identifying Russian agents, saboteurs, spies, etc., who used religious organizations and their membership as a cover for their illegal activities, as confirmed by evidence uncovered by SBU employees. This includes illegal weapons, false documents, and numerous materials calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order in Ukraine and inciting interethnic and interfaith hostility.
In addition, law enforcement agencies have uncovered and documented other facts of illegal activities by clergy, such as the sexual abuse of minors. Moreover, there have been cases where priests directly sided with the enemy – gathering intelligence, revealing the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and even coordinating enemy shelling. Some of them have already been convicted by the court. Other criminal proceedings are at various stages of pre-trial and judicial review. Some were even exchanged by the Russians for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
However, Russian propaganda substitutes concepts, trying to present the fight against criminals, saboteurs, spies, traitors, etc., who use their membership in religious organizations as a cover for their illegal activities, as a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
By and large, in order to operate freely in Ukraine, religious organizations simply need to refrain from affiliating with foreign religious organizations whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine, refrain from spreading the ideology of the “Russian world,” and refrain from supporting armed aggression against Ukraine. However, for some reason, Russian propagandists, followed by some journalists and politicians, see these requirements as religious persecution, restrictions on freedom of conscience, and a ban on the “Orthodox Church,” when in fact it is only a requirement for religious organizations not to justify Russian crimes and not to become accomplices to these crimes.
Valentyn Gladkykh, political analyst, expert at the United Ukraine Think Tank