RELIGIOUS CEREMONY AS AN OBJECT OF ENVIRONMENT WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 180 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of a religious rite as a mandatory feature of the object of the criminal offense under consideration, liability for which is provided for in Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The authors study a large number of various church (religious) rites (sacraments). Each of those mentioned in the study has its own characteristics, procedure and purpose of conducting, support, place of their implementation. The authors of the study took into account the religious traditions of Western Orthodoxy. The issues of Eastern rite traditions did not become the subject of this study.The central element of religion is a religious rite, the essence of which is determined by the purpose, place of its conduct, the means used for this and other factors (historical, social, etc.).A rite should be understood as an external expression of a person’s beliefs. The concept of a rite allows us to consider the relationship between ritual, religion, cult and sacrament.The rite itself is a mediator.Therefore, consideration, illegal obstruction of the performance of a religious rite, confession of faith, beyond the established limits is illegal. The crime is considered completed from the moment of disruption of the rite or the threat of such disruption.Current legislation does not clearly define the forms and types of activities of religious organizations and the criteria for their compliance with the statutory purpose - the profession and spread of faith.Religion, although not scientific in its origin and not rational in its essence, is very important for any society, especially in certain periods of its life.It can be said that the legislator correctly decided to establish criminal liability for obstruction of the performance of a religious rite, at the same time, many points remained beyond his attention.