Olena Bohdan: ‘The Labyrinth of Politics, the Mystery of Faith: Exploring Ukraine’s Orthodox Situation’
MONDAY, 4–6 p.m. | Hybrid format | In this lecture, Dr. Olena Bohdan explores Ukraine’s complex Orthodox landscape in the context of Russia’s ongoing war and the Russian Orthodox Church’s ideological support for the invasion. Drawing on historical background, survey data, and policy expertise, the lecture examines the emergence and social perception of Ukraine’s two largest Orthodox Churches, their believers’ views on sovereignty, EU integration, democracy, and resistance to Russian aggression, as well as recent religious legislation and the controversies it has sparked.
As Russia’s war against Ukraine is raging on and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church provides ideological support for the Russian invasion, the Orthodox situation in Ukraine has become one of the most sensitive and least understood topics. In this lecture, we will explore the following questions: How did the two largest Orthodox Churches in Ukraine emerge and how are they related to the World Orthodoxy? What does survey data reveal about the two largest Orthodox Churches in Ukraine and their perception in Ukrainian society? Do believers in these two Churches have similar perspectives on Ukraine’s sovereignty and its EU integration, on democracy and the rule of law, on resistance to the Russian invasion, and on state policies regarding religious affairs? We will also discuss which new legislation on religion was enacted in Ukraine in the war context and why it raised concerns and sparked controversies.
Dr. Olena Bogdan is currently a UNET Fellow at the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. She has taught social science courses in top Ukrainian universities for 15 years, mainly at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, which is also her alma mater for BA and PhD degrees in sociology. Dr. Olena Bogdan has worked on policy design and implementation within civil society and government, at national and intergovernmental level. She has served as the Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience from 2020 to 2022, having launched this agency in 2020 and directed it into a fully operational central government body despite the challenges of pandemic and Russian full-scale attack on Ukraine. Dr. Bogdan served as the Vice-Chair at the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (elected twice by secret vote of representatives from member states). She has also worked as an expert with the Democratic Practice Programme Initiative and the Civil Society and Good Governance Programme of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Suggested Reading
Clark, E. A., & Vovk, D. (2025). Ukraine’s law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: International law analysis. Journal of Law, Religion and State, 13(2–3), 253–275. https://doi.org/10.5117/JLRS2025.2.3.005.CLAR
Bogdan, O. (2017). Believers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches of Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates: Sociodemographic differentiation and political opinions. Visnyk Kharkivskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni V. N. Karazina. Seriia “Sotsiolohichni doslidzhennia suchasnoho suspilstva: metodolohiia, teoriia, metody,” 38, 41–49. – Available online.
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