HISTORICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL PREREQUISITES OF RELIGIOUS RELATIONS IN UKRAINE, ENSURING THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE IN MODERN CONDITIONS

Abstract

The relatively independent existence of the state and the church does not preclude their spiritual unity through society. For obvious reasons, at the present stage of development of democratic Ukraine, the issues of protection of freedom of conscience and religion in the context of interfaith relations are increasingly attracting the attention of scholars. The aim of the article is to study the historical, legal and social preconditions of religious relations in Ukraine in the context of ensuring the religious security of the state. Realization of the set purpose provides the decision of a number of tasks, such as: 1) research of interrelation of the right to freedom of conscience and interreligious relations in Ukraine; 2) disclosure of the essence of the concept of religious conflicts and conflicts on religious grounds; 3) identification of factors influencing the radicalization of the religious factor in modern conditions in Ukraine. Scientific novelty. The article considers the historical, legal and social preconditions of religious relations in Ukraine as a component of ensuring the inalienable human right to freedom of conscience, which directly affects the state of religious security of the state in the conditions of external hybrid aggression. In conclusion, the article emphasizes that internal instability in Ukraine is significantly affected by the complication and radicalization of the religious factor, under the influence of a number of external factors, such as information and hybrid warfare from neighboring countries, direct support for anti-Ukrainian forces and slogans. violation of the existing territorial integrity of Ukraine or infliction of other damage to its national interests. The main methods of using the religious factor in Ukraine today are: conducting informational actions and special information operations, spreading rumors and gossip about racial, religious or national intolerance in Ukraine, manipulating the consciousness of the population and more. The goals of some political forces of foreign countries are to use existing conflicts on religious grounds to conduct anti-Ukrainian activities; provocation of escalation of religious enmity in order to destabilize the internal sovereignty of Ukraine; diversification of public opinion; the use of religious enmity as a separate component of hybrid warfare.