Religion in Ukraine
Religion in Ukraine is diverse, with a majority of the population adhering to Christianity. A 2018 survey conducted by the Razumkov Centre found that 71.7% of the population declared themselves believers. About 67.3% of the population declared adherence to one or another strand of Orthodox Christianity (28.7% of the Kiev Patriarchate, 23.4% state simply 'Orthodox' with no declaration as to which Patriarchate they belong to, 12.8% of the Moscow Patriarchate, 0.3% Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and 1.9% other types of Orthodoxy), 7.7% 'Christian' with no declared denominational affiliation, 9.4% Ukrainian Byzantine Rite Catholics, 2.2% Protestants and 0.8% Latin Rite Catholics. Judaism was the religion of the 0.4%; while Buddhism, Paganism (Rodnovery), and Hinduism were each the religions of 0.1% of the population. A further 11.0% declared themselves non-religious or unaffiliated. According to the surveys conducted by Razumkov in the 2000s and early 2010s, such proportions have remained relatively constant throughout the last decade, while the proportion of believers overall has decreased from 76% in 2014 to 70% in 2016 and 72% in 2018. (p. 22).
Buddhism in Ukraine
Today Ukraine has nearly 100 Buddhist communities and groups, 38 of them are officially registered and enjoy the status of legal entity. The largest communities and groups belong to the Tibetan tradition in Buddhism, that is, the tantric tradition of Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”). The most widespread among them are Karma Kagyu communities, the main branch of the Tibetan Kagyu-pa School. They are united into the All-Ukraine Religious Center Ukrainian Association of Karma Kagyu Buddhists. In Ukraine, the religious studies of this center are intended for laypeople. Communities and groups of followers of this tradition are present in almost all regional centers of Ukraine.”