War in Ukraine: covering the conflict's religious contours

Religion often plays a role in violent conflicts. Entangled with ethno-national, economic and territorial issues, religious actors, leaders and institutions can exacerbate and ameliorate both the causes and course of a conflict. While some religious actors provide care and appeal for peace, others contribute to the brutality and provide faith-filled fuel to already tenacious confrontations.

The warfare currently engulfing Ukraine is no exception. Religion played a role as the specter of Russian invasion grew over the last several years. Now, after Russian forces began their aggressive assault on Feb. 24, 2022, religious communities within Ukraine, Russia and across the globe are responding.

“While the secular media tries to guess Vladimir Putin’s motives in Ukraine, one important aspect of the current situation has gone largely ignored: religion.”

— Diana Butler Bass, Religion News Service

The latest edition of ReligionLink gives you a rundown of all the headlines, experts, and background research on the religious contours of a war whose impacts will reverberate around the world.

Who are the exvangelicals?

Coined by Blake Chastain in 2016, the term “exvangelical” — or “exvie” — has come to encompass a wide range of individuals who have left evangelicalism, especially white evangelical churches in the U.S. 

Skeptical of institutions and unimpressed with status quo American Christianity, some have turned their back on religion. Others actively campaign against what they see as its abuses. Still others adopt more progressive versions of Christianity or simply do not self-identify as “evangelical” any longer, opting instead to go on a quest of self-discovery and deconstruction. Through hashtags such as #emptythepews, popular TikTok channels and a range of new platforms and publications, they are leaving loud, speaking out against evangelicalism on matters of politics, gender and race.

The latest edition of ReligionLink provides you with a range of resources and potential sources to understand how American Christianity’s traumas and political entanglements have triggered a crisis of faith for many.