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  5. Certain Aspects of Improving the Provisions of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine in the Sphere of State-Religious Relations

Almanac of law. Issue 16 (2025), pages 448–453.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2025-16-448-453

Terletsky R. V.
Certain Aspects of Improving the Provisions of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine in the Sphere of State-Religious Relations

This article explores the expediency of amending the provisions of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine and the relevance of adopting a separate law on the principles of state policy in the field of state-religious (confessional) relations in the context of the effective implementation of the right to freedom of religion.

It is emphasized that the current provisions of Article 35 of the Constitution concerning the separation of church and state, as well as the separation of school from church, have lost their practical relevance. These provisions were directly borrowed from the decree of the Provisional Workers’ and Peasants’ Government of Ukraine “On the Separation of Church from State and School from Church,” which proclaimed an ideology of militant atheism.

Attention is drawn to the fact that despite the officially declared policy of secularization in legislation, in practice, there is a negative transformation of the system of state-confessional relations and an increasing intertwining of religious and political spheres.

It is noted that various legislative acts and agreements have already legalized the interaction between religious organizations and government authorities. An analysis of normative legal acts governing state-religious relations has been conducted, leading to the assumption that such interaction may be interpreted as a violation of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Conclusions have been drawn regarding the necessity of supplementing Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine with provisions on “partnership cooperation,” which would align constitutional provisions with the de facto model of religious-state interaction. It is also proposed to legislatively establish the concept of the “Traditional Religious

Culture of Ukrainian Society,” which represents Christianity of the Kyiv Church Tradition. Additionally, it is suggested to introduce a course in educational institutions covering academic disciplines such as history, philosophy, theology, cultural studies, and traditions of religions that have had (or continue to have) a significant influence on the history and culture of Ukraine. Such a course should serve as a foundation for shaping civic consciousness, based on the principles of tolerance, pluralism, democracy, self-respect, and self-improvement, with a mandatory emphasis on national-historical and cultural identity for the sake of the spiritual revival and growth of the Ukrainian state.

Key words: religion, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, religious education, partnership cooperation, traditional religious culture, military chaplains, religious studies, professional codification, atheism, secularism, national self-identification, traditional religious culture. 

References

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