KIIS has to explain research findings to U.S. media because of Amsterdam

KIIS said that 63% of Ukrainians polled believe that the UOC (MP) should be banned. Photo: uaorthodox.com

After the latest research findings were made public, American journalists began reaching out to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) for explanations regarding the figures concerning Ukrainians' attitudes towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its potential prohibition. This was disclosed by the executive director of KIIS, Anton Hrushevsky, in his comment to uaorthodox.com.

The head of the Institute of Sociology revealed that after the figures of the last poll ("What should be the policy of the authorities and trust in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)" – Ed.) were made public, American journalists started writing to him. Their interest stemmed from the assessment by the American lawyer Robert Amsterdam, who represents the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and who accused KIIS of falsifying the research.

"As a result, he had to explain the research figures and the religious situation in Ukraine," the sociologist's words were reported in the publication.

According to Hrushevsky, "the deep problem of modern societies is superficiality," and that's why "the situation with the MP (meaning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Ed.) should be communicated constantly so that it is clear to both a congressman and an ordinary Texas resident."

As reported by the UOJ, in a comment on the post of an American journalist about the results of this survey, Amsterdam emphasized: "A fraudulent poll where the question made it sound like the Church was Moscow based."

Additionally, the lawyer for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Robert Amsterdam, sent an 18-page open letter to the President of the UN Security Council, in which he described numerous cases of illegal encroachments on freedom of religion and human rights violations by the Ukrainian government.

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