OCU remains the leader among Ukrainian denominations - survey

Most Ukrainians today identify themselves with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is headed by Metropolitan Epifaniy. At the same time, compared to 2023, the percentage level of self-identification with the OCU has decreased slightly - from 32% to 29%. This is reported by UNN with reference to survey results, which was conducted on the eve of Easter by the research company Gradus Research.

Details

"Most Ukrainians now identify themselves with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (Metropolitan Epifaniy) - 29%. In 2023, the level of self-identification with the OCU was 32%. However, this year the OCU maintains the first place among denominations, remaining a spiritual support for a significant part of the population," the survey results say.

The second largest are Orthodox Christians without a clear distinction into denominations - 24%. This may indicate not only the uncertainty of some believers, but also the desire to maintain faith outside of institutional frameworks.

The Greek Catholic Church was chosen by 8%, and another 8% identify themselves with the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The proportion of Ukrainians who do not belong to any religion (atheists, agnostics) remains stable: 15% in 2025 versus 14% in 2023.

A holiday against the background of a war that does not subside

Even against the background of prolonged hostilities, Ukrainians maintain the tradition of celebrating Easter. The absolute majority of respondents (90%) indicated that they plan to celebrate this holiday in both religious and cultural terms.

More than 51% of respondents decided on visiting the temple during Easter week: most plan to do it on Sunday, but there are also those who intend to visit the church on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. 20% of respondents did not decide on an answer.

Instead, 29% reported that they do not plan to go to church. It is worth noting that this figure has decreased significantly compared to 2023 (40%). Such dynamics, obviously, is connected with the desire of Ukrainians to live a full life despite the war.

"The change in religious identity is especially noticeable against the background of the political and military context. The increase in the share of those who switch from the UOC-MP to the OCU or choose "no denomination" indicates deep social transformations. Faith, unlike institutions, remains important, but Ukrainians are increasingly looking for a new expression for it. Young people, in particular, are increasingly perceiving spirituality as a private matter. This does not always mean abandoning faith, but it definitely indicates its new forms, which are not necessarily associated with the institutional church," comments Yevhenia Blyzniuk, founder and director of Gradus Research.

Reference

The study was conducted by the research company Gradus Research using the method of self-completion of the questionnaire in the Gradus mobile application. The sample reflects the structure of the population of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants aged 18-60 by gender, age, size of settlement and region, with the exception of temporarily occupied territories and territories of active hostilities.

The period of the field: 1 wave: April 13-14, 2023, 2 wave: April 11-14, 2025. Sample size: 1 wave: 1330 respondents, 2 wave: 1000 respondents.