NATIONAL, ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES: ESSENCE, HISTORICAL BASIS OF FORMATION AND CORRELATION

The article analyzes the essence of understanding the concepts: «national identity», «ethnic identity», «religious identity», their structural components, evolutionary principles of formation, and correlation in the aspect of a historical phenomenon. The issue of national identity was and remains extremely important for both the past and the present of Ukraine. The idea of ​​state consolidation reflects the aspect of how formed and balanced civil society is. Elements of the latter are various associations covering certain spheres of life. Such structures fully reflect and determine the confessional sympathies of society. Identity in this sense acts as a key basis for the formation of ethnic and religious beliefs. Today, Ukraine is in an extremely difficult situation, which is connected with the Russian-Ukrainian war, which began in February 2014. In the context of modern events, it is important for the population of Ukraine to realize and focus their attention on what unites them. Such factors should be highlighted both in the past of Ukrainian history and determined in the present. The content of the article reconstructs the problem of theoretical understanding of the concept of «national identity», «ethnic identity», «religious identity». It was determined that the specified identities have their own characteristics, which may change over the course of historical time. Attention is drawn to the fact that national identity can change over time. It is substantiated that «national identity», «ethnic identity», «religious identity» are in the process of constant changes, and can also adapt under the influence of external processes. It was determined that the mentioned identities are extremely important for Ukraine, as they both generate and confirm the foundations of national unity, and form a powerful foundation for an established civil society.