Threat of war as factor in the update of religious identity (based on the novels of O. Zabuzhko and S. Zhadan)
Authors:   Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, Kravchenko Angelina 
Published: May 2023

The article examines the place of religious identity, and moral or value components as part of such identity, in artistic texts devoted to the theme of war, in ‘Museum of Abandoned Secrets’ by O. Zabuzhko, and ‘Internat’ by S. Zhadan. These texts deal with wartime in different historical periods and offer us distinct, almost opposite models of the functioning of religion and morality in wartime discourse, which becomes a point of crisis for established identifications, values, and behavior. O. Zabuzhko addresses the events of the Second World War and focuses on the Ukrainian insurgent army fighters. The main character, through the prism of which the story is depicted, offers a model where religious beliefs are organically intertwined with national beliefs, strengthening the ability to endure during the most difficult episodes; morality and values, although transformed considering the military narrative (that is, loyalty and community are defined as the greatest good), remain unchanged: respect for the spiritual remains, for example, prayer, holidays and traditions, the value of human life and the definition of good are recognized. Other characters, to a lesser extent, but in the same way, demonstrate an inextricable connection between religious beliefs and the ability to withstand the war, and in some episodes even the necessity of the presence of a ‘religious’ (Father Yaroslav during the death and burial of one of the soldiers). S. Zhadan forms a model in which belonging to a religion does not play a necessary role for national identification. Religion identity cannot become a marker of self-identification with one of the two flags that collide in the novel. Most likely, the reason is that the inhabitants of the border areas had similar religious beliefs, which did not contribute to a clear national identification (most religious visual markers are associated with Orthodoxy). The churches, although new, are empty, and in front of the crosses that appear occasionally in the text, everyone is baptized in the same way, despite their belonging to the flag. Morality also goes through the transformation of the war chronotope: human life is devalued due to many deaths, and the greatest evil is not even the murder or betrayal itself, but the lack of involvement and the refusal to decide which side you chose as ‘yours’ and take responsibility for it. However, the author nevertheless turns to biblical phenomena and images in the text to describe groups of characters belonging to one of the sides of the war, thus giving them a positive connotation. So, on the one hand, we have common features: the war becomes a challenge to the identity of the characters, reformats certain established human values and morality (definition of good and evil, etc.); the main value is defined as responsibility for one's own decision, community with characters who are on the same side. However, on the other hand, the authors offer different models of the place of religious identity: O. Zabuzhko demonstrates the constructive role of religious beliefs, on the other hand, S. Zhadan demonstrates the emptiness of the religious system, which does not become a way of separation and decision-making. Most likely, such different modeling of religious identity and its role in wartime is due to the different depicted periods and regions of Ukraine.