Review

The article emphasizes that, in the context of the large-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the spiritual and religious sphere is one of the most important components in shaping Ukraine’s national security. It highlights the serious threat posed to Ukraine’s national security by the anti-Ukrainian activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious organizations of the Russian Federation, particularly through the dissemination of the «russian world» ideology in the information environment and its direct influence on certain Ukrainian religious organizations, notably the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The purpose of the article is to study the essence and content of the legal mechanism for protecting the religious component of Ukraine’s national security. The article proposes a definition of the «legal mechanism for protecting the religious component of national security,» formulates its essence (goal), and examines its key elements: normative and institutional. It analyzes the legal framework addressing current threats to Ukraine’s national security in the religious sphere. It is noted that problems with effectively ensuring a state’s security often stem from an inadequate legal assessment of threats or a lack of their regulatory definition in legislation. Key problematic issues in the legal regulation of countering threats to Ukraine’s national security in the spiritual and religious sphere are identified, including: the absence of a legally defined concept of «religious security»; various threats are mentioned in legal acts as potentially arising in the religious environment, but most lack legal definition and are not addressed in criminal legislation; there is no clear legal mechanism for implementing the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations»; and there is a need to amend the Criminal Code of Ukraine to criminalize offenses involving religious sites, among others. The article analyzes religious threats based on their impact on national security and offers an original classification of these threats. The article concludes with recommendations for improving both the normative and institutional elements of the legal mechanism for protecting the religious component of national security.