FROM EARLY MODERN TO CONTEMPORARY CONFESSIONALIZATION OF PROTESTANTISM IN EUROPEAN AND UKRAINIAN CONTEXTS

Abstract

This article offers a comparative analysis of the phenomenon of confessionalization, tracing its development from the classical models of Early Modern Europe to contemporary transformations of Protestantism within the Ukrainian socio-cultural and political context. The study proposes a theoretical reinterpretation of confessionalization as a multidimensional socio-historical process encompassing the formation of religious identities, mechanisms of social disciplining, the institutionalization of confessional structures, and the interaction between religious communities and political institutions. The author traces the evolution of this concept from the statist model of the Early Modern period, grounded in state coercion, normative control, and centralized governance of the religious sphere (“confessionalization from above”), to a contemporary communal model in which the decisive role belongs to local communities, social self-organization, and ethical self-regulation (“confessionalization from below”). Particular attention is devoted to the emergence of a phenomenon described as “new confessionalization” in Ukraine, which is interpreted as a response of Protestant communities to large-scale socio-political transformations and the existential challenges of war after 2014, and especially in the context of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2022. The article analyzes the profound paradigmatic shift of contemporary Ukrainian Protestantism from historically shaped isolationism and peripheral status toward active participation in the development of civil society, public discourse, and national social support infrastructures. The study highlights the role of public Protestant theology, particularly the concept of the “Kingdom missiology”, which redefines traditional understandings of the church’s mission toward social responsibility and public engagement. It examines the institutionalization of military chaplaincy, the expansion of humanitarian and volunteer networks, and the emergence of new forms of social ministry as key mechanisms for the crystallization of modern confessional identity. The article demonstrates that the contemporary Ukrainian model of confessionalization operates not through instruments of state coercion characteristic of the Early Modern era, but rather through mechanisms of reputational leadership, civic mobilization, the accumulation of social capital, and ethical legitimation within the public sphere. In this context, religious communities are understood as significant actors contributing to social resilience and collective solidarity in times of war and global crises of the twenty-first century. The comparative approach proposed in the article allows for a reconsideration of confessionalization not merely as a historical category of the Early Modern period but as a relevant analytical framework for interpreting contemporary processes of religious mobilization and the transformation of the public role of Protestantism.