According to a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies, the church remains the most trusted social institution in Ukraine today. This news was reported by the national information agency UNIAN on 28 November 2002.
According to Ludmyla Shanhina, the center’s director of social programs, in comparison to political, civil and administrative organizations, the level of trust in the church is constantly high. The survey was conducted from 18 to 28 October 2002 and covered 2000 adult respondents in all regions of Ukraine. Shanhina said that almost two thirds of the respondents (61.2 percent) trust the church fully or partially, which means that the church continues to have authority in society, as well as a great potential to influence social and economic processes that are currently going on in the country. In addition, the survey revealed that the prevailing opinion in society is that religion and church are constituent parts of the political process in Ukraine. Of those questioned, 44.5 percent believe that religion is part of political life, while 35 percent disagree with this statement. Among believers, 42.3 percent also consider religion to be an aspect of political life. Source: www.unian.net