Religion in Vietnam

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Historically, the earliest established religions in Vietnam are Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism (called the "triple religion" or tam giáo). Significant minorities of adherents to Roman Catholicism, Cao Dai, and Hoa Hao and smaller minorities of adherents to Protestantism, Islam, and Theravada Buddhism were established later, in recent centuries.

The majority of Vietnamese people classify themselves as non-religious, although they visit religious temples several times every year. Their everyday behaviours and attitudes are dictated by the synthesis of philosophies which can be traced from many religions, especially Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Those religions have been co-existing in the country for centuries and mixed perfectly with the Vietnamese tradition of worshiping their ancestors and national heroes. That special mix explains why the people there find it hard to say exactly which religion they belong to.

Contents 1 Religious freedom 2 Buddhism 3 Roman Catholicism 4 See also 5 Cao Dai and Hoa Hao 6 Protestantism 7 Islam 8 External links

[edit] Religious freedom

The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam allows religious freedom, however in practice the Communist government often suppresses religious activities and associations for their own purposes without adhering to the law. Many religious preachers have been jailed, held under house arrests, or physically abused for many years, such as the prominent Thich Quang Do (who recently won the Rafto Peace Prize), Thich Thien Minh, Nguyen Cong Chinh, etc. As a deterrent to the awareness of the international community, the Communist government sets up puppet religious associations and preachers who operate inline with the government's purposes, while the Communist government suppresses other independent religious associations and preachers.

[edit] Buddhism

Buddhism embeded in Vietnamese culture. Many Vietnamese proverbs reflect Buddhism philosophy, e.g. "That the father eats salty causes his child being thirsty".

Main article: Buddhism in Vietnam

Of Vietnam's many religions, Buddhism is the most popular(85% of Vietnam's population is Buddhist). There are two types of Buddhism found in Vietnam, Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada. Mahayana Buddhism first spread from China to Vietnam's Red River Delta region around 200 AD and remains popular throughout the whole country, whereas Theravada Buddhism arrived from India into the southern Mekong Delta region between 300-600 AD and remains popular in only the south delta area of Vietnam. To this day, Mahayana Buddhism is largely affiliated with the majority ethnic Vietnamese or minority Hoa population, while Theravada Buddhism is largely affiliated with the ethnic Khmer minority.

As communism began to rise in Vietnam, the regime generally avoided going against Buddhism or any other religion. Instead, they declared that all Buddhists supported the new communist regime, in order to reduce the power of influential Buddhists that did not encourage communism, such as the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam. The Communist government also forced nuns and monks to live a materialistic life as well as to work in agricultural labor and join the Patriotic Buddhist Liaison Committee. If they refused, they were placed under house arrest or imprisoned, and their pagodas and possessions were taken for public use. The government also prohibited Buddhist organizations from creating schools to train new monks and nuns. By April 1980, most of the Buddhist organizations were fully controlled by the government. Because of this, Buddhist rituals and practices relatively decreased and most pagodas were eliminated.

[edit] Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholicism first entered Vietnam through catholic missionaries in 16th century and strengthened its influence when Vietnam was a French colony. The French encouraged the spread of the religion as they thought it balanced Buddhism and supported Western culture. Jesuit missionary Alexandre De Rhodes created in 17th century a written system of Vietnamese language largely using the Roman alphabet - it is used today and now called Quốc Ngữ (national language).

By the time the Communists had risen to power in Vietnam, monks and nuns were forced to work in agriculture, though the government official did claim that they allowed the Catholics to continually practice their religion. By Novermber 1977, the government declared religious freedom for the Catholics in the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, but under the condition that all Catholic organizations must be under the control of the communist government. In the 1980's, the Unified Bishops' Council of Vietnam and Committee for Solidarity of Patriotic Catholics were established to encourage Vietnam Catholics to support the communist regime.

[edit] See also

Vietnamese Martyrs

[edit] Cao Dai and Hoa Hao

Cao Dai and Hoa Hao are minority religions in Vietnam that were both founded in the Mekong River Delta during the 19th century. Cao Dai is a type of reformed Buddhism with principles taken from Confucianism, Taoism, and Christianity that became popluar in the rural regions of the southern delta area whereas Hao Hao is related closer to tradition Buddhism and became popular in the southernmost areas of the delta.

As the communist regime fought for power, most of the Cao Dai and Hao Hao organizations tried to remain neutral throughout the conflict. However, by 1975, the Communist government (as they did to the Roman Catholics and Buddhists) began to pressure all Cao Dai and Hao Hao organizations to join the Communist cause.

[edit] Protestantism

Main article: Protestants in Vietnam

In Vietnam, Protestantism is a minority religion, with only 100,000 to 200,000 followers by the early 1980s, mostly located in the Montagnard communities in southern Vietnam's central highlands. Because Protestantism is closely associated with the United States, Protestants have been continually prosecuted by the Communist government, even to a greater extent than that of the Catholics^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Islam

Main article: Islam in Vietnam

Adherence to Islam in Vietnam is primarily associated with the Cham ethnic minority, although there is also a minimal Muslim population of ethnic Vietnamese in the southwest (Mekong Delta) of the country.

[edit] External links

• Beliefs and religions of Vietnam
• Asianinfo.com-Religion in Vietnam
• "Report on Vietnam" by International Christian Concern
• About.com-Religion in Vietnam