The state extends its interests in regulating religion not only to legal but also to canonical issues - religious scholar

Associate Professor, Candidate of Law, Head of the Center for the Study of the Rule of Law and Religion Dmytro Vovk published an article in which he described the transformation of church-state relations in Ukraine. Vovk argues that the state is currently interested not only in the legal aspects of relations with the UOC, but also in purely canonical ones, which was not the case before. The material was published on the Public Orthodoxy website.

«Zelensky has already shifted the relationship between the state and the church towards a more intrusive model, in which the state extends its interests in regulating religion not only to the behavior of religious organizations and their members, but also to canonical issues. Zelenskyy and his political force have developed and pushed for the adoption of legal norms that have strengthened the discretionary power of the Ukrainian state and provided it with tools that can be potentially effectively used to ban religious communities for their canonical ties or for disseminating theological views that the government considers dangerous or unacceptable,» — Vovk noted.

The religious scholar added that this format of relations will be maintained and developed regardless of whether Zelensky remains as head of state or someone else takes his place.

«This process of ‘theologizing’ church-state relations policy, which is a reality for most Orthodox-majority countries, is probably still limited by Zelensky’s personal religious neutrality. However, if the factor of his personal neutrality is removed from the overall picture by Zelensky himself or his successor, who is more interested in religious affairs, the cooperation between the state and the church announced by the sixth Ukrainian president, as well as the interference of the Ukrainian state in the religious sphere, are likely to increase,» — the expert added.