Are the US and Russia on good terms or not? Although the two nations have completely different systems and are at odds with each other, President Trump seems to feel a sense of familiarity with President Putin, and we don’t hear much about Americans and Russians not getting along well.
Some point out that religion is behind this.
The US has a relatively large Catholic population, accounting for 25% of the population. In Russia, the overwhelming majority are Russian Orthodox, but there is also a small percentage of Catholics. I’ve heard that Catholicism has a strong global network and is very active in exchanges. I’ve also heard that Catholics are the ones who mediate between the US and Russia.
President Trump is not a Catholic, but he is very popular with Catholics, receiving 58% of the Catholic vote in the presidential election, and it is said that President Trump is also pursuing policies that emphasize Catholicism.
President Putin is a Russian Orthodox believer and is said to be critical of Catholicism, but he seems to recognize that Catholics are the bridge between the US and Russia.
When we look at the relationship between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States not only from political, economic, and military perspectives, but also from a religious perspective, a different truth is likely to emerge.
In Ukraine, there are many Ukrainian Orthodox believers who originally belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church, but in 2018 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. It is possible that these movements are influencing the current war in both direct and indirect ways.
As a Japanese person with little religious faith like me, I cannot fully understand how important religious ties are, but it seems certain that something like an affinity is at work.
Incidentally, in America, the Yellow Peril theory, which sees Asia as a threat, remains deeply rooted. If we look at the US-China conflict from the perspective of the Yellow Peril theory, a different truth will emerge. (Kitajima Kei)

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI