PROCEDURAL MODEL OF PROPORTIONALITY OF STATE RESPONSE IN THE RELIGIOUS SPHERE

Abstract

Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine has intensified the security dimension of state–church relations, where freedom of religion must be safeguarded while hostile external influence is effectively contained. This article proposes a Risk-Oriented Proportionality Matrix (ROPM) that links four levels of religious-security risk (low, moderate, high, critical) to graduated, legally grounded state responses (partnership and prevention; administrative procedures and compliance orders; judicial restriction or termination; and ancillary property/sanctions consequences within the law). The model specifies a minimal evidence-and-procedure package for each escalation step and applies a concise proportionality test (legality, legitimate aim, necessity, fair balance). ROPM is designed to help unify administrative practice and strengthen judicial review, enabling decisive counter-influence measures during wartime while maintaining European standards of freedom of conscience.