Over 60% of Ukrainians support complete ban of UOC-MP in Ukraine - KIIS
Kyiv • UNN
The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians (83%) support state intervention in the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, with 63% in favor of a complete ban and 20% in favor of state control and supervision of the Church.
The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians support the ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the state. Also, some citizens believe that the state should control the activities of the UOC (MP). This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, UNN reports.
Details
According to the survey, 83% of Ukrainians believe that the state should intervene in the activities of the UOC (MP) in one way or another. In particular, 63% believe that this Church should be completely banned in Ukraine (in December 2022 - 54%, in May 2023 - 66%).
Another 20% are now in favor of a somewhat "softer" approach, which does not imply a complete ban, but provides for the establishment of state control and supervision.
In addition, 12% of respondents are convinced that there is no need to do anything and interfere in the affairs of the UOC (MP), and only certain possible cases of offenses should be investigated.
The KIIS noted that in all regions of Ukraine, the majority of the population (from 76% in the East to 85% in the West and 86% in the Center) support a proactive position of the state in the issue of the UOC (MP).
However, in the South and East, there are slightly fewer people who support a complete ban (55% and 46% against 69% in the West and 68% in the Center, respectively).
Addendum
KIIS Executive Director Anton Grushetsky emphasized that the UOC (MP) continues its activities, which is why it is perceived by the population as the "fifth column of the Kremlin.
At the same time, he warned that all security actions against representatives of the Church should be accompanied by enhanced communication, especially with Western partners.
We can already see that the Russian enemy is trying to discredit Ukraine abroad through the alleged "persecution of Christians." This topic is particularly sensitive for our partners - the United States
For reference
The survey was conducted by at the request of the Center for Strategic Communications "Forum" on April 20-25, 2024.
The method of telephone interviews using a computer based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers was used to interview 1220 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except Crimea).
The survey was conducted with adult citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, resided on the territory of Ukraine controlled by the government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of the territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, and the survey was not conducted with citizens who left the country after February 24, 2022.
Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) did not exceed 3.2% for indicators close to 50%, 2.7% for indicators close to 25%, 2.1% for indicators close to 10%, and 1.4% for indicators close to 5%. In the conditions of war, in addition to the above formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added (...) In general, we believe that the results obtained still retain high representativeness and allow us to analyze public sentiment quite reliably
Recall
The Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy recommended supporting in the second reading the draft law banning religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine.
