Strengthening the State-Religion Nexus in Post-Maidan Ukraine. The Autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as Nation- Building Strategy after Revolution

In this paper, the authors aim to reveal the slight variations in the role played by the tie between a state-religion and a nation-building strategy. To explore better how religion may become an intrinsic part of national identity, the authors focus here on the case of Ukraine, where the process of autocephaly was finalized in 2018. This paper shows how the Ukrainian officials endeavoured to endorse a new ideological agenda characterized by the close connection between religion and nationalism, obtaining a rally-round-the flag effect that made religion increasingly important for the Ukrainian national identity.