University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2005 IDENTITY IN EVANGELICAL UKRAINE: NEGOTIATING REGIONALISM, NATIONALISM, AND TRANSNATIONALISM Esther Grace Long University of Kentucky Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Long, Esther Grace, "IDENTITY IN EVANGELICAL UKRAINE: NEGOTIATING REGIONALISM, NATIONALISM, AND TRANSNATIONALISM" (2005). University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations. 358. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/358 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Esther Grace Long The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2005 IDENTITY IN EVANGELICAL UKRAINE: NEGOTIATING REGIONALISM, NATIONALISM, AND TRANSNATIONALISM ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Esther Grace Long Lexington, Kentucky Co-Directors: Dr. John Paul Jones III, Professor of Geography and Dr. Susan M. Roberts, Professor of Geography Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © 2005 Esther Grace Long ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION IDENTITY IN EVANGELICAL UKRAINE: NEGOTIATING REGIONALISM, NATIONALISM, AND TRANSNATIONALISM This dissertation examines identity formation among evangelical Protestants in contemporary Ukraine. The overarching question is this: how do Ukrainian evangelicals view themselves and their churches in the context of Ukrainian regionalism, Ukrainian nationalism, and religious transnationalism? This question demands a closer look at Ukrainian regional variation, the status of Ukrainian national identity among evangelical practitioners, and the process of religious transnationalism, including how evangelicals perceive the West. This project is primarily based on qualitative research methods carried out over a ten month period. Field methods included participant observation, focus group interviews, and individual interviews. A set of maps produced by research subjects is also evaluated. In order to permit a regional comparison, case study churches were selected in four Ukrainian cities. Before beginning the field research it was hypothesized that Baptists, those evangelicals whose religious roots date to the nineteenth century and who survived the Soviet Union, would have different perspectives on many of the research questions than members of churches founded recently by American missionaries. To test this assumption, one Baptist church and one new evangelical church were selected in each of the four cities. Among Ukrainian evangelicals, regionalism is closely related to language preference and to notions of national identity. Members of churches in L’viv are strong supporters of Ukrainian-only language practices; members of churches in other parts of the country identify themselves as Russian speakers who dislike the exclusive language policies in western Ukraine. Study participants generally rejected a Ukrainian nationalism that was connected to religion, although members of new Protestant churches incorporated aspects of civic nationalism into their religious practice. In terms of their participation in a transnational religious network, all churches (both older Baptist and newer evangelical) were highly integrated with people, ideas, and money from the West. However, evangelicals’ views towards the West and their own identities as transnational actors were correlated to church type. Members of older Baptist churches were much more critical of Western churches and missionaries than were members of new evangelical congregations. KEYWORDS: Transnationalism, Nationalism, Identity, Ukraine, Religion Esther Grace Long April 22, 2005 IDENTITY IN EVANGELICAL UKRAINE: NEGOTIATING REGIONALISM, NATIONALISM, AND TRANSNATIONALISM By Esther Grace Long John Paul Jones III Co-Director of Dissertation Susan M. Roberts Co-Director of Dissertation Wolfgang Natter Director of Graduate Studies April 25, 2005 RULES FOR THE USE OF DISSERTATIONS Unpublished dissertations submitted for the Doctor's degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the dissertation in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this dissertation for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ DISSERTATION Esther Grace Long The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2005 IDENTITY IN EVANGELICAL UKRAINE: NEGOTIATING REGIONALISM, NATIONALISM, AND TRANSNATIONALISM DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky by Esther Grace Long Lexington, Kentucky Co-Directors: Dr. John Paul Jones III, Professor of Geography and Dr. Susan Roberts, Professor of Geography Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © 2005 Esther Grace Long ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My committee members – Dr. John Paul Jones III, Dr. Susan Roberts, Dr. Karen Petrone, and Dr. Anna Secor – have provided encouragement, direction, and advice over the years. Thank you! I am especially grateful for Dr. Jones’ willingness to coach and stick with a long-distance student after beginning his new life in Arizona. Thank you to Dick Gilbreath for making maps and to John Hintz for patiently coaching me though some mapmaking of my own during a time when he was busy writing his own dissertation. Dr. Stan Brunn always opened his door when I needed to talk through ideas. Several hard working women assisted me with focus group interviews, translations, and other research tasks. They include: Ludmila Bodnar, Tanya Kim, Julia Kornelyuk, Anya Muravska, and Veronika Voronina. Fieldwork for this dissertation was funded by a Fulbright scholarship from the Institute of International Education. Thank you to all of you who have touched my life over the course of this dissertation research project. I am particularly indebted to Ukrainian hosts who became friends: Andrey and Lyuda and everyone in Belgorod; Nelya Anatolyevna and her family; Oksana; Lora; and Ludmila. There are many others who may recognize themselves on these pages – thank you for opening up your lives to me. Access to the field sites and research participants would have been impossible without people like Adeline Wallace, Jim and Sandy Bellair, Mel and Cindie Pike, Melinda Wallace, and Clay and Darlene Quarterman. All of you contributed to my productivity, health, and spiritual and emotional well-being in Ukraine, and I won’t forget our times together. There are countless others who impacted this dissertation, including: Nicole Edgar Morford, my fellow Pittsburgher and Ukrainian Fulbrighter; Jill DeVere who hosted me countless times in Odessa; the Shepherds who first introduced me to the Ukrainian Church; numerous Russian language teachers; Kathleen Long who saw me through the writing process; a friend who paid for a summer of pre-dissertation fieldwork in Ukraine but wishes to remain anonymous; Drs. Peirce Lewis and Roger Downs, my first geography teachers; and Lou, Katie, Louie, and Stephen Long, who lent me a cabin in the woods so that I could finish writing. Thanks of course to each member of my large and loving family scattered in France, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Kentucky. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements............................................................................................................iii List of Figures................................................................................................................... vii Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter Two: Theoretical and substantive context............................................................ 7 2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Post-Soviet transition...........................................................................................