Author ORCID Identifier
ORCID 0000-0003-2291-1238
Abstract
The article analyzes the transformation of institutional trust in the Church in Ukraine under the conditions of the full-scale Russian–Ukrainian war. The phenomenon of trust is interpreted as an interdisciplinary concept that makes it possible to combine theological, anthropological, and social approaches to its comprehension. Trust in God and trust in the Church belong to different levels of religious experience: the former has an existential character, while the latter functions as a form of institutional legitimacy. Based on sociological survey data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and the Razumkov Centre, it is demonstrated that throughout all the years of Ukraine’s independence the Church has enjoyed a high level of trust among Ukrainian citizens, surpassing a number of other social institutions in this regard. The full-scale Russian–Ukrainian war has triggered processes of trust redistribution from ecclesiastical structures to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and volunteer networks. This indicates an institutional reconfiguration within which the Church integrates into a new security system through military chaplaincy, humanitarian ministry, and the volunteer mobilization of communities. In terms of Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory, this process can be interpreted as “structural coupling” between the religious and security subsystems of society. It is argued that the redistribution of trust among social institutions takes place within the broader context of the formation of the Ukrainian political nation. Pluralism, as an attribute of Ukrainian identity, makes it possible to combine diverse worldview positions without their forced unification, a conclusion supported by the analysis of religious and confessional affiliation among Ukrainian citizens in 2021–2024. Thus, the war does not destroy institutional trust in the Church; rather, it transforms its configuration by integrating religious institutions into a new architecture of social solidarity and security.
Recommended Citation
Ishchuk, Nataliia
(2026)
"The Reconfiguration of Institutional Trust in the Church in Ukraine During the Full-Scale Russian–Ukrainian War,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46
:
Iss.
4
, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2782
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss4/6