The State Committee for Religion announced official statistics on religious communities in Ukraine on January 1, 2003. At a news conference, SCR Chairman Viktor Bondarenko said that there is a steady increase in the number of religious communities, and that more than half of Ukrainian “administrative regions” have over 1,000 religious communities. SCR statistics relies on data supplied by regional state administrations, which is reliable, though not perfect.
According to SCR Deputy Chairman Mykola Novychenko, Ukraine has 28,567 religious organizations (including 27,480 religious communities), representing 54 confessions. In 2003, the number of religious organizations has increased by 1,423 (5.7%). Half of these are Eastern Orthodox communities, of which 525 belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) under the Moscow Patriarchy. This Church is not only numerically the strongest (10,040 congregations), but also the most dynamic in Ukraine.
It is followed by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (3,334 congregations). There are 3,196 UOC communities of the Kyiv Patriarchy; 1,110 of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church; 847 Roman Catholic communities; 2,272 Baptist; 1,366 Pentecostal; 928 Adventist; 790 Charismatic; 462 Moslem (with 320 in the Crimea), and 262 Judaic communities. New religious groups constitute 4.5% of the total number of religious communities.
There are 19,112 religious constructions (increased by 478 in the last year), although the real need is met only by 72%. In other words, religious communities grow faster than buildings. The Transcarpathian Reformed Church is the only one that has a sufficient number of temples. A total of 2,232 religious construction projects are underway, 439 of which are sponsored by the state. There are 26,000 clergymen in Ukraine, including 704 from other countries.
Mr. Bondarenko said at the news conference that the Law on the Freedom of Conscience has been revised. The new edition takes into account all suggestions of religious organizations, particularly those of UOC, Moscow Patriarchy, and the Baptist Union of Evangelical Christians. However some charismatic leaders remain dissatisfied. Mr. Bondarenko stressed that “We would never try to restrict the rights of religious organizations in the freedom of conscience, for this is contrary to the Constitution. We would not introduce changes to the bill without consulting with the religious organizations either.” He stressed that “the time has come to grant the Church the legal status of a social institution, because we still have the Soviet practice of alienating the state from the religious community.”
SCR Deputy Chairman Mykola Malomuzh presented the revised Law on the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, noting that “the old law was passed almost 11 years ago. A lot of official documents have been adopted since then, including the Constitution of Ukraine. Ukraine signed a number of international agreements and conventions. This prompted some changes in the old law. Other changes were prompted by religious organizations and life itself. Particularly, I want to mention the legal status of the Church, return of religious property, courses in religion in public schools, and protection against destructive cults.”
According to Mr. Novychenko, in the early 1990s there were over 1,000 cases of religious conflicts. In 2002 there were still about 100 registered interdenominational disagreements, but no acts of violence. The religious situation has generally stabilized and there is a certain balance and a degree of respect for public peace in the context of religious diversity.
Polls show that the number of religious communities and buildings does not always reflect the actual status of the Church. Churches are built without proper architectural designs and assessment of actual need, and as a result they stand half empty. Some rural religious premises are used by archpriests as warehouses for storing construction materials, and people do not seem to mind. The true indicators of church life should be piety of the congregation and involvement in the life of church and society. So, if our churches show such dynamic growth, they should also be able to spend some money on orphanages, parish schools, and shelters.
