Religion is an important element of the world order – Viktor Yelensky

Today, religion is very important to altering or maintaining the world order. Member of Ukrainian Parliament from the "National Front" faction, Viktor Yelensky, spoke about this at the 12th Kyiv Security Forum.

"For the first time in Kyiv Security Forum history, we are talking about religion and religious institutions, since never before has there been such an interest in religion and the church as there is today. Last year, the most popular word in Ukraine was “tomos"; leaving words like "bitcoin" and "yevroblyahy" far behind in search engine popularity," said the Member of Parliament.

"Another popular term, which unfortunately doesn’t translate into Ukrainian, is the "securitization of religion," he added. The representative of the "National Front" clarified that this term is very popular in search engine right now because everyone – analytical centers, and governments, and political leaders – are talking about how "attempts are being made to infect religion with hate and intolerance."

"These attempts use religion and religious institutions to combat the values of human dignity, democracy, and human rights. From the "Islamic states" to the so-called Orthodox army in the Donbass, religion is being used to undermine these values," noted the Member of Parliament.

"Today, we will ask our distinguished guests to speak about what religion and faith means in today’s world and how to strengthen these values. Currently, there is a lot of talk about our values and about how religion is important for every individual. However, much less often do we address its importance for the society, for the country, for change or even, for maintaining the world order. Today, world leaders and ordinary people are talking about how important this is right now," concluded Viktor Yelensky.

FOR REFERENCE:

The annual "Kyiv Security Forum" was initiated by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk "Open Ukraine" Foundation in 2007. Since then, the Forum has become a platform for high-level, international discussions about relevant matters of national security, as well as the security of the Black Sea region, Europe, and the world.