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Church and State in Ukraine after the Euromaidan: President Poroshenko's Discourse on Religion, 2014–2018

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2019

Denys Shestopalets Open the ORCID record for Denys Shestopalets [Opens in a new window]
Denys Shestopalets*
Affiliation:
Monash University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Denys Shestopalets, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. E-mail: adfontes83@gmail.com; denys.shestopalets@monash.edu
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Abstract

This article explores the discursive aspect of the church–state relationship in Ukraine after the Euromaidan protests and the outburst of the Russian–Ukrainian crisis in February 2014. In particular, it analyzes the evolution of the core elements in the discourse on religion by President Petro Poroshenko in the period 2014–2018. It also traces the sources of his ideological representation of the church as a key attribute of Ukrainian political order and national identity, along with the army and the state language. This study demonstrates that, in addition to their intensive practical efforts intended to facilitate the emergence of a united autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian state authorities strove to establish and promote an ideological paradigm which features a close binding of religion and nationalism.

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Article
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Politics and Religion , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 150 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

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