ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the issues connected with the interrelation between churches and civil society in Ukraine, applying conceptual typologies and examining institutional boundaries between churches and civil society at both theoretical and concrete societal levels. It analyzes the public role of churches in Ukraine’s democratization and social and political transformation. Looking particularly at the context of the Ukrainian-Russian geopolitical conflict, the chapter examines the varied positions of the churches and concludes that the national civil society agenda concerning European integration could hardly be shared by all the churches in Ukraine. Nevertheless, religious institutional plurality, enriched with the newly established autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, might be considered an important indicator of healthy, though still developing, civil society. The chapter identifies promising prospects for closer mutual interaction between churches and civil society in Ukraine, particularly in facing the mutual challenge of conflict mediation and national reconciliation.
