User:Dragfyre/Sandbox/Religion in Vietnam

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Buddha statue in Nha Trang, Vietnam
.

The earliest established religions in

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 Taoism
. 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.

Overview

General place of religion in Vietnamese life.

Although most Vietnamese list themselves as having no religious affiliation,

ghosts and spirits is common; it is commonly believed that failing to perform the proper rituals for one's ancestors will cause them to become hungry ghosts (Vietnamese
: ma đói). [nb 1]

A 2002 Pew Research Center report claimed that only 24% of the population of Vietnam view religion as "very important".[4]

"non-religious identification" vs. "everyday religious behaviours"

History

Timeline

Main article: Timeline of religion in Vietnam

Early forms of religious practice

Earliest known forms of religious practice: indigenous religion.

The earliest forms of Vietnamese religious practice were

triple religion of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism, added a further ethical and moral dimension to the indigenous Vietnamese religion.[5]

Contact with China: the "Triple Religion"

Millenarianism

See also:
Buu Son Ky Huong

Militarization and political involvement

History of military/political involvement
  • Pigneau de Behaine: military advisor to Nguyen Anh
  • Hoa Hao & Cao Dai - private armies
  • etc, etc.

Religion in Modern-day Vietnam

View of religion in the Communist era, relationship of religious groups to gov't, etc, basic principles

Religious freedom and persecution

Main article: Freedom of religion in Vietnam

The

Hoa Hao), but that the Baha’i Community of Viet Nam had been awarded a "certificate of operation" from the Government’s Committee for Religious Affairs.[7] In 2007, the Committee for Religious Affairs was reported to have granted operation registration certificates to three new religions and a religious sect in addition to six existing religions.[7] Every citizen is declared to be allowed to freely follow no, one, or more religions, practice religion without violating the law, be treated equally regardless of their religion, be protected from being violated in their religious freedom, but is prohibited to use religion to violate the law.[6]

In fact, there are some limitations in religious practice in Vietnam. Foreign missionaries legally are not allowed to proselytize or perform religious activities. No other religions than those 8 are allowed to propagate. Preachers and religious associations are prohibited to use religion to propagate ideologies that are against the government. Many Vietnamese preachers who fled for America and other countries say that they were suppressed by the Communist government for no or unreasonable reasons. However, legal preachers and religious associations working in Vietnam today are aided and honored by the government.

The Vietnamese government has been criticized for its religious violations mostly by the United States, the Vatican, and among overseas Vietnamese who oppose the Communist government. However, due to recent improvements in liberty of religion, the United States no longer considers Vietnam a Country of Particular Concern. The Vatican has also considered negotiations with Vietnam about freedom for Vietnamese Catholics.

Despite some substantial tries by the Vietnamese government to improve its international image and ease restrictions on religious freedom, the cases of dissident religious leaders persecution did not stop in the last years. The general secretary of the

Montagnards and their house churches continue to suffer from state control and restrictions.[9] In March, 2007, a member of the main Hanoi congregation of the legally recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) Nguyen Van Dai was arrested for accusations relating to his defense of religious freedom, including disseminating alleged "infractions" of religious liberty [10]
.

Buddhism

Main article: Buddhism in Vietnam
Hà Nội's One Pillar Pagoda
, a historic Buddhist temple.
Quan Am Pagoda, Cholon
.

Buddhism came to Vietnam as early as the second century CE through the North from central Asia and via Southern routes from India.[11] Mahayana Buddhism first spread from China to Vietnam's Red River Delta region around 300 BC. Theravada Buddhism arrived from India into the southern Mekong Delta region many years later, between 300-600 AD. Buddhism as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese is mainly of the Mahayana school, although some ethnic minorities (such as the Khmer Krom in the southern Delta region of Vietnam) adhere to the Theravada school.[12]

Buddhist practice in Vietnam differs from that of other Asian countries, and does not contain the same institutional structures, hierarchy, or sanghas that exist in other traditional Buddhist settings. It has instead grown from a symbiotic relationship with Taoism, Chinese spirituality, and the indigenous Vietnamese religion, with the majority of Buddhist practitioners focusing on devotional rituals rather than meditation[13].

Most, if not all, demographic estimates list Buddhism as the dominant religious belief system in Vietnam, although, due to the unique nature of Vietnamese Buddhist practice, exact membership figures vary. Recent estimates given by Vietnamese sources seem to indicate that, of Vietnam's 20 million religionists, 50%—10 million—were registered Buddhist "followers"

world view, regardless of differences in practice[13]
.

Pure Land

Main article: Pure Land Buddhism in Vietnam

bodhisattvas or Dharma-Protectors[18]. While Pure Land traditions, practices and concepts are found within Mahayana cosmology, and form an important component of Buddhist traditions in Vietnam, Pure Land Buddhism was not independently recognized as a sect of Buddhism (as Pure Land schools have been recognized, for example, in Japan) until 2007, with the official recognition of the Vietnamese Pure Land Buddhism Association as an independent and legal religious organization[19]
.

Zen

Main article: Zen Buddhism in Vietnam

Hòa Hảo

Main article: Hòa Hảo

That Son range on the Vietnam-Cambodia border). The founders of these traditions are regarded by Hòa Hảo followers as living Buddhas—destined to save mankind from suffering and to protect the Vietnamese nation. An important characteristic of Hòa Hảo is its emphasis on peasant farmers, exemplified by the old slogan "Practicing Buddhism While Farming Your Land." Hòa Hảo also stresses the practice of Buddhism by lay people in the home, rather than focusing primarily on temple worship and ordination. Aid to the poor is favored over pagoda
building or expensive rituals.

Today, as an officially recognized religion, it claims approximately two million followers throughout Vietnam; in certain parts of the Mekong Delta, as many as 90 percent of the population practice this tradition. Since many of the teachings of Huỳnh Phú Sổ related in some way to Vietnamese nationalism, adherence to Hòa Hảo outside of Vietnam has been minimal, with a largely quiescent group of followers presumed to exist among the

Vietnamese diaspora
in the United States.

Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa

Main article:
Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa

Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa ("Four Debts of Gratitude"), a Buddhist sect based in

An Giang Province, is one of the most recently registered religions in Vietnam. It is based on the teachings of Ngô Lợi (1831-1890). Official government statistics report that Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa claimed over 70,000 registered followers and 476 religious leaders as of 2005, centred in 76 places of worship spread across 14 provinces, mainly in Southern Vietnam.[14][20]

Christianity

Main article: Christianity in Vietnam

Roman Catholicism

Main article:
Roman Catholicism in Vietnam
Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

By far the most widespread

Jesuit missionaries
eventually saw the definitive establishment of Christian centres within the local population.

Jesuit missionary

Quốc Ngữ
(national language).

The French missionary priest

Tay Son brothers in 1777[22][23][24][25][26][27]. Becoming Nguyen Anh's loyal confidant, benefactor and military advisor during his time of need[28][29][30][31], he was able to gain a great deal of favor for the Church. During Nguyen Anh's subsequent rule as Emperor Gia Long, the Catholic faith was permitted unimpeded missionary activities out of his respect to his benefactors.[32] By the time of the Emperor's accession in 1802, Vietnam had 3 Catholic dioceses with 320,000 members and over 120 Vietnamese priests.[33]

According to the Catholic Hierarchy Catalog, there are currently 5,658,000 Catholics in Vietnam, representing 6.87% of the total population.

archdioceses) with 2228 parishes and 2668 priests.[34]

Protestantism

Main article:
Protestants in Vietnam

Protestantism was introduced to

Protestant organizations recognized by the government are the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV), recognized in 2001, and the smaller Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN), recognized since 1963[35]
.

Present estimates of the number of Protestants range from the official government figure of 500,000 to claims by churches of 1 million. Growth has been most pronounced among members of minority peoples (

Ede, Jarai, and Bahnar, with internal estimates claiming two-thirds of all Protestants in Vietnam are members of ethnic minorities[36]. By some estimates, the growth of Protestant believers in Vietnam has been as much as 600 percent over the past ten years. Some of the new converts belong to unregistered evangelical house churches, whose followers are said to total about 200,000[36]
.

Mennonite movements were officially recognized by Hanoi in October, 2007, which was seen as a notable improvement in the level of religious freedom enjoyed by Vietnamese Protestants[37]. Similarly, in October 2009, the Assemblies of God movement received official government permission to operate, which is the first step to becoming a legal organization[38]
.

The Assemblies of God were said to consist of around 40,000 followers in 2009[38], the Baptist Church around 18,400 followers with 500 ministers in 2007[37], and The Mennonite Church around 10,000 followers.

Russian Orthodox

Main article:
Orthodoxy in Vietnam

The

Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra. The representatives of the foreign relations department of the Russian Orthodox Church come to Vung Tau from time to time to conduct the Orthodox divine service[39]
.

Vietnam is also mentioned as territory under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Hong Kong & Southeast Asia Nikitas (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), though there is no information on its organized activities there.

Cao Đài

Main article:
Cao Đài
Tây Ninh, Vietnam
.

veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism with the minimum goal of rejoining God the Father in Heaven and the ultimate goal of freedom from the cycle of birth and death
.

Official government records counted 2.2 million registered Cao Đài followers in 2005[14]; most outside sources give 2 to 3 million. Some estimates are as high as 8 million adherents in Vietnam. An additional 30,000 (numbers may vary) (primarily ethnic Vietnamese) live in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Islam

Main article: Islam in Vietnam

Adherence to

Tang Dynasty (618–907), through contact with Arab traders. Although the Chams follow a localised adaptation of Islamic theology, they consider themselves Muslims. However, they pray only on Fridays and celebrate Ramadan for only three days. Circumcision is performed not physically, but symbolically, with a religious leader making the gestures of circumcision with a wooden toy knife.[40]

A 2005 census counted over 66,000 Muslims in Vietnam, up from 63,000 in 1999

An Giang Province. In Ninh Thuan Province, where most of the Cham in Vietnam reside, Cham Bani (Muslim Cham) number close to 22,000. Out of the 22 villages in Ninh Thuan, 7 are Muslim.[42]

Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism in Vietnam

Much like Islam, adherence to

World Heritage site
, is perhaps the most well-known of Cham temple complexes.

Approximately 50,000 ethnic Cham in the south-central coastal area practice a devotional form of Hinduism. Most of the Cham Hindus belong to the

Tamil, and otherwise of Cham or mixed Indian-Vietnamese descent) live in Ho Chi Minh City, where the Mariamman Temple acts as a focal point for the community. In Ninh Thuan Province, where most of the Cham in Vietnam reside, Cham Balamon (Hindu Cham) numbers 32,000; Out of the 22 villages in Ninh Thuan, 15 are Hindu.[42]

Judaism

Main article: History of the Jews in Vietnam

The first

Jewish Chronicle
in the 1860s and 1870's.

As late as

Statute on Jews" was implemented in French Indo-China (Vietnam), leading to increased restrictions and widespread discrimination against Jews. The anti-Jewish laws were repealed in January 1945[46]
.

Prior to the French evacuation of Indochina in 1954, the Jewish population in Indochina (which encompassed Vietnam,

anti-Semitic incidents during the period covered by this report. The country's small Jewish population is comprised almost entirely of expatriates."[35]

Bahá'í Faith

Main article:
Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam

Established in the 1950s, the Vietnamese

Bahá'í community once claimed upwards of 200,000 followers, mainly concentrated in the South.[49] The number of followers dwindled as a result of the banning of the practice of the Bahá'í Faith after the Vietnam War. After years of negotiation, the Bahá'í Faith was registered nationally in 2007, once again receiving full recognition as a religious community.[49] In 2009 it was reported that the Bahá'í community has about 7,000 followers and 73 assemblies.[50]

Other religions

A Lên đồng practitioner performs in a pagoda.

Đạo Mẫu

Main article: Đạo Mẫu

The term "

Bà Triệu), as well as the cult of the Four Palaces. Đạo Mẫu is commonly associated with spirit mediumship rituals—known in Vietnam as lên đồng
—much as practiced in other parts of Asia, such as Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Although the Communist government had initially proscribed the practice of such rituals, deeming them to be superstitions, they relented in 1987, once again legalizing their practice.

See also

Notes and references


Notes
  1. ^ "If properly buried and worshipped, the dead would be happy to remain in their realm and act as benevolent spirits for their progeny. But those who died alone and neglected, and to whom no worship was given, disturbed the dead and preyed on the living." [3]
  2. ^ "It is generally agreed that Dong Son drums were used for ceremonial purposes (e.g. Higham 1996: 133), and it could be argued that they were produced within a particular religious context, so we might talk about Dong Son religion, in the sense we talk about the Buddhist religion, as a cultural production but one which we know little about specifically." Bowdler, Sandra (2006). Bacus, Elisabeth A.; Glover, Ian; Pigott, Vincent C. (eds.). "The Hoabinhian: Early Evidence for SE Asian Trade Networks?". Uncovering Southeast Asia's Past: Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists. National University of Singapore: 357.
References
  1. ^ a b "Beliefs and religions". Embassy of Vietnam (USA). Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Vietnam". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  3. ^ Hue-Tam Ho Tai 2008, p. 1.
  4. ^ "Among Wealthy Nations, U.S. Stands Alone In Its Embrace of Religion". Pew Global Attitudes Project. Pew Research Center. 2002-12-19. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  5. ^ a b Hue-Tam Ho Tai 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Constitution Chapter Five: Fundamental Rights and Duties of the Citizen". Embassy of the Socialist republic of Vietnam in the United States of America. Retrieved 2007-09-27. (See Article 70)
  7. ^ a b Nation’s Baha’i community gets religious recognition (22-03-2007), Viet Nam News, Vietnam News Agency Hanoi, Vietnam
  8. ^ "Vietnam: Attack on Mennonites Highlights Religious Persecution". Human Rights Watch. 2004-10-22. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
  9. ^ "Vietnam report". US State Department. 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
  10. ^ "Encourage the Wife of Imprisoned Vietnamese Lawyer". Persecution blog. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2006-04-27.[unreliable source?]
  11. ^ Cuong Tu Nguyen. Zen in Medieval Vietnam: A Study of the Thiền Uyển Tập Anh. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997, pg 9.
  12. ^ Cuong Tu Nguyen & A.W. Barber. “Vietnamese Buddhism in North America: Tradition and Acculturation”. in Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka (eds). The Faces of Buddhism in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998, pg 130.
  13. ^ a b Cuong Tu Nguyen & A.W. Barber 1998, pg 132.
  14. ^ a b c d White Paper on Religion and Policies regarding religion in Viet Nam (PDF)
  15. ^ "Vietnam - Religions". Encyclopedia of the Nations. Advameg, Inc. 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2010-05-19.}}
  16. U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
    . 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  17. U.S. Department of State: Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
    . 2009-10-30. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  18. ^ Cuong Tu Nguyen 1997, p. 94.
  19. ^ "Pure Land Buddhism recognised by Gov't". AmericanBuddhist.net. Viet Nam News. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2010-5-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "News Highlights August 10". VietNamNet Bridge. VietNamNet Bridge. 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2009-02-08. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Kennedy, Thomas (1910). Indo-China. Vol. 7. Robert Appleton Company (New York). Retrieved 2010-05-19. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  22. ISBN 0333241630
    ., p. 423.
  23. McGraw Hill
    ., p. 282.
  24. ^ Buttinger, p. 266.
  25. ^ Mantienne, p. 520.
  26. ISBN 0-275-93652-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help
    )    , p. 7.
  27. ISBN 0-670-84218-4
    ., p. 75.
  28. ^ Buttinger, p. 234.
  29. ISBN 0-275-93652-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help
    )    , p. 9.
  30. McGraw Hill
    ., p. 284.
  31. ISBN 0333241630
    ., p. 431.
  32. ^ Buttinger, pp. 241, 311.
  33. ^ "Catholic Church in Vietnam with 470 years of Evangelization". Rev. John Trần Công Nghị, Religious Education Congress in Anaheim. 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  34. ^ a b David M. Cheney (2005-11-20). "Catholic Hierarchy Web Site". Catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  35. ^
    U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2005-06-30. Retrieved 2010-5-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help
    )
  36. ^ a b Compass Direct (2002-09-20). "Vietnam Protestants Call Conference 'Miraculous'". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
  37. ^ a b "Hanoi officially recognises Baptists and Mennonites". Asianews.it. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  38. ^ a b Vietnam News (2009-10-20). "Assemblies of God receive permit covering 40 provinces". Vietnam News. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  39. ^ "Holy Week and Easter celebrated in Vietnam" (in Russian). Educational Orthodox Society "Russia in colors" in Jerusalem. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  40. ^ The Lonely Planet Guide to Vietnam, 8th Edition 1991, 2005, pp. 47-48.
  41. ^ Census 1999, Table & 83
  42. ^ a b Champa and the archaeology of Mỹ Sơn (Vietnam) By Andrew Hardy, Mauro Cucarzi, Patrizia Zolese p.105
  43. ^ India's interaction with Southeast Asia, Volume 1, Part 3 By Govind Chandra Pande, Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy, and Culture, Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India) p.231,252
  44. U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
    . 2002-10-22. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  45. ^ Statistics of Jews, American Jewish Committee, 1940.
  46. ISBN 0253338549
    Page 69
  47. ISBN 0814318436
    Page 472
  48. ^ Cohen, Roberta The Jewish Communities of the World: Demography, Political and Organizational Status, Religious Institutions, Education, Press Institute of Jewish Affairs in association with the World Jewish Congress, 1971, Original from the University of Michigan
    ISBN 0233961445
    Page 74
  49. ^ a b Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2007-09-14). "International Religious Freedom Report - Vietnam". United States State Department. Retrieved 2008-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  50. ^ "Baha'i Vietnam community to strengthen national unity". Thanh Nien. Thanh Nien Daily. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-10. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  51. ^ Ngô Đức Thịnh (1996). "The Cult of the Female Spirits and the Mother Goddesses 'Mẫu'". Vietnamese Studies. 121 (3): 83–96.
  52. ^ Đạo Mẫu ở Việt Nam (The Mother Goddess Religion in Vietnam). Hà Nội: Nhà Xuất Bản Văn Hóa Thông Tin. 1996.
  53. ^ "The Pantheon for the Cult of Holy Mothers". Vietnamese Studies. 131 (1): 20–35. 1999.
  54. ^ Fjelstad, Karen; Nguyen, Thi Hien, eds. (2006). "The Mother Goddess Religion: Its History, Pantheon, and Practices". Possessed by the Spirits: Mediumship in Contemporary Vietnamese Communities. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Southeast Asia Program: 19–30.
  55. ^ Nguyen Quoc Tan (May 2007). "Mother Goddess Liễu Hạnh under the View of Religious Studies" (Document). Religious Studies Review. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |issue= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |volume= ignored (help)
Bibliography
Further reading

Modernity and Re-Enchantment: Religion in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam, edited by Philip Taylor, ISEAS, Singapore, 2007.

ISBN 978-0-7391-2739-1
. Note: This scholarly collection on a variety of religious practices in Vietnam (ancestor worship, mediumship, spirit worship, sacrifices, transnational Buddhism and Christianity) offers new perspectives from anthropology and history and serves as a useful scholarly counterweight to several of the sources cited in this online article.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Religion in Vietnam.

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