Poll: Political and material interests causing split in Ukrainian Orthodoxy, citizens of central and southeastern Ukraine say
14/3/2012
Kyiv, March 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – About two third of the population of central and southern Ukraine think the split in Ukrainian Orthodoxy is an intra-church issue and should be resolved without interference from the outside, according to the findings of the sociological poll conducted by the Research & Branding Group and announced by its founder Yevhen Kopatko.
Kopatko said at a press conference at Interfax on Monday that 59% of the poll’s respondents expressed such opinion, while 11% of those polled said that the church split could be resolved only with the participation of the government. Another 30% found it difficult to answer.
At the same time the majority of respondents, 40%, consider themselves to be Orthodox believers – 28% said they belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow patriarchy, 14% to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv patriarchy, 2% to other religions, 9% do not think they are Orthodox believers and 7% found it difficult to answer.
The split in Orthodoxy in Ukraine was linked by 31% of Ukrainians to internal political opposition, 28% of those polled connect it with the fight for human and material resources, 17% with foreign policy, 16% with differences between religions, while 11% said there was no split and 20% found it difficult to answer.
The work of the head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow patriarchy Metropolitan Vladimir is estimated positively by 48%, 27% both positively and negatively, 2% in general negatively and 22% said they had never heard of him.
Twenty-eight percent of the respondents positively estimate the work of the head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv patriarchy Patriarch Filaret, 26% both positively and negatively, 6% of respondents have a negative attitude towards his work and 40% said they had never heard of him.
In the poll, some 1,600 citizens from eighteen central and southeastern regions of Ukraine and Autonomous Republic of Crimea were polled, from February 10 to February 20. The poll’s margin of error was 2.2%.
