How many Ukrainians support breaking ties with the Russian Orthodox Church – a poll

A clear and widespread demand has emerged in Ukrainian society to protect the national informational and spiritual space and to restrict the activities of religious institutions that maintain canonical or organizational ties with the aggressor state. 

The results of sociological monitoring demonstrate a high level of public consensus on issues of national security in the religious sphere. Regardless of personal religious preferences or region of residence, 79% of Ukrainians surveyed (57% strongly and 22% somewhat) are firmly convinced that the state not only has the right, but is obligated to strictly regulate the activities of religious organizations if their actions threaten state sovereignty or violate current legislation. 

In addition, 62% of respondents directly support the idea of a complete legislative ban on institutions controlled by the Russian Federation. As for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (led by Metropolitan Onufriy), 80% of citizens demand that it immediately and uncompromisingly sever all ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. A total ban on the UOC due to its current stance is endorsed by 57% of those surveyed, while 67% of respondents support the imposition of personal state sanctions against Metropolitan Onufriy.

At the same time, sociologists have noted a rapid increase in demand for the general Ukrainization of church life. In particular, 70% of citizens believe that Ukrainian should be the sole language of worship in churches, and only 24% advocate for preserving languages traditional to specific denominations (such as Church Slavonic). Significant changes have also occurred in the calendar of religious holidays: currently, 51% of Ukrainians celebrate Christmas exclusively according to the New Julian calendar—on December 25, another 21% of respondents celebrate it twice (December 25 and January 7), and only 18% remain supporters of the old tradition of celebrating exclusively on January 7. The historic establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in 2018 is viewed positively by 60% of the country’s population.

Despite heated debates at the national level, actual religious tolerance in Ukrainian communities remains exemplary. The overwhelming majority of respondents—88%—clearly stated that neither they personally nor their immediate relatives have ever experienced any oppression, discrimination, or persecution due to their religious beliefs or worldview. At the same time, 68% of those surveyed rate the current level of religious freedom in Ukraine as very high or somewhat high. It is noteworthy that 74% of Ukrainians describe relations between believers of different churches in their specific localities as completely peaceful, neighborly, or friendly, although when assessing the situation on a national scale, 44% of respondents theoretically assume the existence of some general tension.

Regarding their own religious self-identification, the structure of Ukrainian society is distributed as follows:

• The largest group of respondents (26%) identify themselves as “simply Orthodox,” without associating their faith with any specific patriarchate or religious center.

• Twenty-two percent of respondents identify with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

• The category “believers without a specific denomination” was chosen by 16% of respondents.

• Eleven percent of telephone survey participants identified themselves as convinced atheists.

• 10% of respondents remain supporters of the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate).

• Seven percent of citizens identified the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) as their religious home.

The study also revealed a deep divide in the level of trust Ukrainians have in the leaders of various religious denominations. The ranking is led by the Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy, in whom 47% of respondents express trust (the average rating is 3.0 points on a 4-point scale). The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav, also received a high average rating of 3.0 points, although 62% of respondents noted that they do not know him at all. The situation is similar with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: his rating is 2.8 points, but 59% of Ukrainians are unfamiliar with him. The level of trust in the Pope (referred to in the survey as Leo XIV) stands at 41%, with 27% distrusting him (a rating of 2.6). The head of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Onufriy, has a low rating of 2.3 points, and, as expected, the absolute outsider in terms of public sentiment is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, whom 78% of Ukrainian citizens openly distrust, rating his activities at a mere 1.1 points.

This was reported by Oleksiy Antypovych, Director General of the Rating Group sociological service, during the official presentation of the results of a large-scale nationwide study, “Assessment of the Religious Situation in Ukraine,” which took place at the press center of the Ukrinform news agency.