To understand the Russia-Ukraine conflict, one must consider religion’s role in instigating, perpetuating, and complicating the war. Below are six excellent articles that frame Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within its religious context, and that help shine a light on the religious identities, histories, and traditions at stake in this war.

1) What Does the Russian Invasion Mean for Religious Minorities in Ukraine?
Anna Piela
Religion and Politics
Piela outlines the likely fate of Ukrainian religious minorities if Russia succeeds in its invasion. Through her analysis of how Russia has historically treated minority groups, she writes of her concern for Ukraine’s religious diversity and freedom.

2) A Twisted Love Story: How American Evangelicals Helped Make Putin’s Russia and How Russia Became the Darling of the American Right
Katherine Kelaidis
Religion Dispatches
In this alarming and fascinating piece, Kelaidis discusses how the relationship between Russia and the American Right has helped Putin to cement Russian Orthodoxy as the gold standard for conservative, traditional politics.

3) Also at Stake in Ukraine: the Future of Two Orthodox Churches
Andrew E. Kramer
The New York Times
Kramer lays out the likelihood of the Ukrainian Church surviving if Russia wins, and vice versa. In either case, he argues, one church is certain to be ejected from Ukraine.

4) Holy Wars: How a Cathedral of Guns and Glory Symbolizes Putin’s Russia
Lena Surzhko Harned
The Conversation
Harned employs the image of a single Russian cathedral, The Church of the Armed Forces, to act as a physical manifestation of Putin’s vision for the country: an interplay between the state, the military, and the Russian Orthodox Church.

5) Ukraine’s Jewish History is Filled with Trauma. But While the Past is Prologue, it’s Not Destiny.
Joshua Meyers
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
In his response to Putin’s claim of “denazifying” Ukraine, Meyers details the scope of this misconception. He argues for an understanding of modern Ukrainian religion and politics as a shift from its past, and writes of the country’s road to “self-improvement.”

6) What Putin’s “Denazification” of Ukraine Really Looks Like
Yair Rosenberg
The Atlantic
Rosenberg’s profile of a Ukrainian rabbi is a tender and moving tribute to the realities of being Jewish in Ukraine today.

Cameron Andersen is the Revealer‘s editorial assistant. She is currently pursuing a dual degree with the NYU Religious Studies M.A. program and the Long Island University Library Sciences archival program.