Russian Victory Would Mark End of Religious Freedom in Ukraine
March 7, 2022
The full scope of the consequences of Russia’s invasion is still unknown. But one thing is clear: any control that Russia or Russian-backed forces have over Ukraine is dangerous to believers not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Crimea and the Donbas offer examples of how Russia’s influence brings religious oppression. Russian-backed separatists in 2014 took control of the Donbas region and established what they called the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Now, Freedom House reports any “adherents of faiths that are not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church remain subject to persecution.” Believers can be punished for gathering to worship without permission, and churches are raided without cause. Authorities have banned select Christian literature in Luhansk, including a hymnal and a translation of the Gospel of John.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 had a similarly chilling effect on religious practice there. Russian occupation authorities have confiscated, and at times demolished, properties belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Jehovah’s Witnesses are repeatedly targeted under vague counter-extremism laws. Crimean Tatar Muslims face legal discrimination, and some individuals have been targeted for imprisonment.
Ukraine is widely recognized as having one of the best environments for religious freedom among the former Soviet states. In contrast, Russia is so restrictive that the U.S. State Department has placed it on its “Countries of Particular Concern” list.
The Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act was introduced in both houses of Congress to oppose Russia’s religious freedom violations in Ukraine. …
Understanding Putin’s approach to religion is key to understanding his foreign policy. As the Russian invasion got underway last month, in a lengthy televised speech, Putin called Ukraine “an inalienable part of our own history, culture, and spiritual space.” To define Ukraine as belonging to Russia’s “spiritual space” sounds odd to Western ears, but it signals the extent to which Putin is eager to reassert the Russian Orthodox Church’s influence in Ukraine, and by extension, the Kremlin’s influence.
Putin has utilized the Russian Orthodox Church to bolster a strong Russian national identity and repeatedly used Russian Orthodox churches to politically benefit the regime and reinforce its authority. In return, the Kremlin has elevated the Russian Orthodox Church as the ties between church and state tighten. Yet, the Church’s cozy relationship with the Kremlin comes at the cost of its independence. Last week, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow appeared to endorse Putin’s narrative of the Ukraine invasion, calling Russia’s opponents in Ukraine “evil forces.” For one Orthodox Christian writing in National Review, Patriarch Kirill’s behavior is a “scandal.” However, there is courage to be found. Nearly 300 Russian Orthodox priests signed an open letter calling for an immediate ceasefire and mourned for the Ukrainian people.
Ukraine’s shared values with the West, including religious freedom, are worth defending. Ukrainian Christians and others are wholeheartedly joining the fight. Western leaders should take every reasonable step to contribute to their success.
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