Number of those believing in God decreases in Ukraine, according to Razumkov Center studies

Today, the Razumkov Center presented at the round table in Kyiv a new study of the religious situation in Ukraine, which was carried out on March 3 - 9, 2017

According to the new sociological survey, the proportion of believers in Ukraine has dropped as compared to 2014 and 2016. The figures dropped to 67% (in 2014 it was 76% and in 2016 70% respectively), equaling the pre-war level of 2013.

Traditionally, the high religiosity is declared by residents of western Ukraine, they constitute over 91% of believers, whereas the residents of southern Ukraine demonstrated the lowest religious self-identification, there are only 42.7% of believers, which is the absolute minimum for all year of studies of the religious situation in Ukraine by the Razumkov Center.

It should be noted that the level of atheism does not increase, a large segment of the population is either uninterested in religious matters, or has not determined its attitude towards them. Thus, again in southern Ukraine, every fifth surveyed hesitates between belief and disbelief.

More than 2/3 of respondents consider themselves Orthodox, nearly 8% - Greek Catholics, 1% - Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. Over 12.6% do not belong to any religion, and every thirteenth person considers himself a Christian.

The number of believers who are actively involved in religious life remains almost unchanged. Thus, every fifth Ukrainian goes to church every week. Although this percentage is different in regions: 8% in the East compared to 40% in the West. Also, one person out of five in the West and only 3% in the East and South of Ukraine constantly financially support the church.

The total number of respondents were 2016 Ukrainian respondents. The error margin does not exceed 2.3%. The study was conducted in the annexed Crimea and some occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The full version can be found at the Razumkov Center’s website.