Academic Scientific JournalsFeatures of the Use of Religious Symbols in Ukrainian Games of War
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/ehgs.2026.1.01Keywords:
Ukrainian war games, religious symbols, Russian Orthodox Church, public mood, representation of religionAbstract
Major historical events, including wars, can influence people’s worldviews, including their religious ones. For example, in the context of the armed confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, the level of trust in the Ukraine Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) among Ukrainians fell to 8%, which cannot be attributed solely to the general trend of Ukrainians’ disappointment in Christian institutions (since 2021, the level of trust in them has fallen from 63.5 to 60%). Cultural texts, including video games, can serve as markers of changes in public sentiment toward certain institutions. Video games often use religious symbols as a tool for meaning-making and self-promotion. This article, based on an analysis of 187 Ukrainian war video games, attempts to identify how often and in what way religious symbols are used in them, as well as whether the representations of religious institutions in these video games correlate with public sentiment among Ukrainians.
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