KIIS publishes a report on religious self-identification of Ukrainians

Survey. Photo: CS cart

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted a nationwide survey called "Omnibus", which explored the religious self-identification of the population and attitudes toward the creation of a unified Orthodox church in Ukraine.

According to the results published on the institute's website, 70% of Ukrainians identify themselves as Orthodox, with 56% of them associating with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which makes up 81% of all Orthodox residents in the country. Another 7% did not specify affiliation with a particular church, while 6% consider themselves part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (referred to in the survey as UOC-MP).

In addition to Orthodox believers, 12% of respondents identify as atheists, and 7% belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Other religious groups gathered no more than 3% of responses.

The idea of creating a unified Orthodox church is supported by 61% of Ukrainians. 16% oppose it, while 20% said the issue is indifferent to them. The most popular option for unity is a model where UOC hierarchs and clergy not affiliated with Russia join the OCU – this model is supported by 47% of respondents.

Regarding the leader of the unified Orthodox church, the majority of respondents (50%) would like to see Epifaniy Dumenko, the current head of the OCU, in this role. Among those who have a clear opinion, this percentage rises to 76%. Other options include another hierarch from Ukraine (8% among all respondents and 12% among those with a preference), His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, Primate of the UOC (6% and 9%, respectively), and another hierarch from outside Ukraine (2% and 3%). A third of respondents stated that they do not have a firm opinion or that the issue is indifferent to them.

As reported by the UOJ, supporters of the UGCC and OCU are the most active in supporting the idea of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to the survey data, 87.1% of UGCC believers and 82.8% of OCU supporters expressed support for a law that would prohibit the activities of the UOC.

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