Professional Affiliation

Professor of Political Science, Carelton University

Wilson Center Project

The Politics of Religion in the Ukraine: The Orthodox Church, the State and Social Change in the Ukraine, 1917-1982

Project Summary

The project examines, from a cross-disciplinary perspective, the evolving interrelationship between the Orthodox Church and the conflicting forces of nationalism and communism in the Ukraine in the context of Soviet politics and social transformations in the Ukraine since the Civil War. Special attention is given to 5 aspects of the problem: internal and external determinants of Soviet church policy in the Ukraine; the interdependence between Soviet religious and nationalities policies; the conflict between the conservative and progressive factions among the Orthodox clergy; the confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian orientations within the Church; and the latter’s adaptation to political and socio-economic changes. The study focuses in particular on the role of religion and the church in the processes of nation-building and denationalization in the post-1917 Ukraine.