Scholarly Study of Religion in Ukraine

Abstract

The article analyzes the specifics of religious studies of religious minorities (RM). This religious phenomenon needs a concrete applied methodology that would make it possible to study the RM in its entirety. It is proposed to rely on the materials, which, in this case were the materials of a sociological study conducted within the project "Religious Minorities of Ukraine and State-Religious Relations" (2021), carried out by the authors of the article. As a result, it was clarified which religious organizations should be attributed to the RM, and how they differ from the religions of the majority, who have specific needs and requests. Having obtained a very real picture of the life and status of the RM in Ukraine, the researchers concluded that the RM today is an inconspicuous phenomenon of Ukrainian religious reality. Ukrainian society is aware of the existence of the RM in Ukraine. The state does not consider them as effective partners and almost does not take them into account when determining public policy in the field of religion. The religious majority, focused on its own internal problems, is at best indifferent to minorities. Journalism draws from religious reality only scandalous facts (or interpreted in this way) related to the Republic of Moldova. The authors consider it necessary to proceed from the fact that religious minorities are a historical phenomenon in Ukraine, an organic part of modern Ukrainian religious life. Despite their small number, the RM has an untapped resource in its influence and authority, which would improve interfaith understanding in the multi-religious space of Ukraine. In conclusion, the authors formulate practical recommendations for improving state-confessional relations, taking into account the interests of religious minorities.