The Level of Accessibility of Inclusive Design of Christian Temples and Churches in Ukraine

Abstract

The article explores the issues of accessibility of inclusive design of Christian churches in Ukraine. The principle of accessibility as the main element of inclusive design often causes a conflict of interests in modern Ukrainian society, as it requires changes in the existing state of affairs. To make the subject-spatial environment accessible not only in everyday life, production, but also in the Christian sacred environment is one of the primary tasks of inclusive design. Many Christian churches in Ukraine are not ready to accept people with inclusion since the conditions of accessibility are not met. One of the reasons is that many Christian churches in Ukraine are the spiritual and historical heritage of the state, so changing their architecture is not encouraged. At the same time, modern church buildings and temples that were built after 1991 are also not prepared to receive people with disabilities. Since spirituality is one of the key values for the Ukrainian sociocultural system, which is genetically determined for the national tradition it is important to establish the level of accessibility for all believers. Spirituality is one of the pearls of the historical heritage of the people. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the level of accessibility and general aspects that prevent people with disabilities from visiting Christian churches. In the study of this topic, we will allow ourselves to express our own points of view and try to draw the attention of religious leaders so to resolve the problem with disabled inaccessibility to temples and churches in Ukraine.