DISINFO: Western liberalism is a religious sect trying to destroy traditional values
SUMMARY
The conflict (between Russia and the West) has become a deep and systemic one. Russia’s opponents are driven by the idea of destroying Orthodoxy, Islam, the Slavs, and people with traditional views. This is already beginning to have elements of a religious war because the ideology that has captured the West is liberalism in the form of a religious sect.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin and other Russian state-controlled outlets accusing the West of being “morally corrupt” and extolling Russia’s so-called “traditional values”. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Western values are deeply rooted in principles such as democracy, human rights, individual freedom, rule of law, pluralism, and respect for human dignity. The portrayal of the West as being "morally corrupt" and fighting a religious war against countries which support the so-called “traditional values” is politically motivated and does not reflect reality. LGBTQ+ rights are often cited in this regard. Western countries generally promote the idea of religious neutrality and support freedom of religion as a basic right. Although being largely secular, Western nations respect religious beliefs and cultural traditions of other countries unless these are destructive or pose a threat to security.
The Kremlin often exploits the claim that Ukraine’s partners are fighting against world religions in order to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin and other Russian officials portray Moscow as the defender of traditional values, while Western policies are being shown as leading to moral decay, because the US, the EU as an organisation and its member states support Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression. A broad coalition of more than 50 countries, including the EU, the US and some other NATO and G7 nations, provides Ukraine with military and technical assistance to help it repel Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression, launched on 24 February 2022.
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