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Major Religions in Vietnam

Vietnam has six major religions including Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam,
and Hoa Hao Buddhism. From the article, Consulate General of Vietnam, they said, Viet Nam is
a multi-religion and multi-belief country. The Vietnamese people have a time-honored tradition
of practicing their beliefs. Different ethnic groups in Viet Nam have different beliefs linked to
their own economic and spiritual life (2015). Buddhism in Vietnam is at its all time high, and is
the countries leading religion. Refugees first introduced it to the country fleeing from persecution
in China and India. Buddhism in second century A.D. could be found in Tonkin otherwise known
as North Vietnam. Northern Vietnam was the leading support system for ethnic Vietnamese
culture and Buddhism. The country first saw Catholicism during the 16th century when Catholic
missionaries from Portugal came to visit South Vietnam. They said, Historians believe that
Catholicism was first introduced in Viet Nam in 1533. From 1533 to 1614, priests of Portuguese
Order of St. Francis and Spanish Order of Preachers accompanied merchant ships to Viet Nam
(2015.) Also in South Vietnam, a Canadian missionary introduced Protestantism in 1911. Islam
religion was founded during the Tang Dynasty, which was located China but brought into
Vietnam by Arab traders. Many Islam missionaries continued to follow this religion beginning it
in Cambodia and settled in the Mekong Delta region. Hoa Hao is a religion tradition based off
Buddhism, which was founded in 1939. A native of southern Vietnam located in the Mekong
region was considered to be a prophet of Hoa Hao leading to the continuation of the ministry
throughout the 19th century.
Religion in Vietnam does play a major role in their cultural structure. Religion has
exerted a great influence not only the culture, but also the Vietnamese concept of life. The
country has strict moral standards that begin with religion. On the website, Religion of the

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Vietnamese by Huynh Dinh Te he said, The attitude towards life, death, and the world beyond
bears a deep imprint of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism (Te, 2015). With the exception
that everyone has a soul, believers and non-believers all practice this tradition that is famous in
the country. In the article, Religion and Beliefs by Nguyen Tuan he said, Since the ancient time,
the Vietnamese worshipped a large number of gods, especially those related to agriculture such
as the sun, the moon, land, mountain, river and forest, etc., for good luck (Tuan). The religious
gatherings practiced by the Vietnamese are also part of their culture, and most everyone living in
the country participate in these worships.
In Vietnam, there are many temples and shrines throughout each region of the country,
but most in particular for the Buddhist religion. There are multiple pagodas throughout the
country, but for some religions there are not many sacred spots. Buddhism has many sacred
places in Vietnam that many are welcome to visit and worship in. In the article, Sacred places
in Vietnam, by Tony Jaa he said, Among all them, Buddhism is the religion that has most
deeply influence towards Vietnamese spiritual life and beliefs. It can be considered as a part of
social life and culture of Vietnam (2015). The first being the Ngoc Son Temple located in the
capital of Hanoi. The temple is a place to dedicate national heroes, and feel a sense of peace
and grace. The Buddhist religion believes in meditating allowing them to develop
concentration, clarity, and emotional positivity. The Ngoc Son Temple is a sacred place to
Buddhists, because it permits them to achieve these goals. Catholics sacred place is called
Our Lady of La Gang, which is located in Central Vietnam. It is symbolic for when Catholics
were killed and persecuted in Vietnam due to the restrictions put on this religion in 1798.
Many religions all over the world have their sacred locations, but Vietnam in particular has a

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select few. Buddhism dominates the country, thus the majority of the sacred places are pagoda
or temples.
Government control in the socialist republic of Vietnam is searching to establish a law of
religion and belief in 2016. In the article by Julie Oosterhouse, she said, With communism,
there is inherent fear of anything associated with Western culture, including Christianity
(Oosterhouse, 2015). In particular, Catholics and Christianity are their number one concerns
considering they fear they cause the most political influence. The constitution of Vietnam
allows one the freedom to worship, but there are government restrictions on organized
religious group activities. The constitution of Vietnam states, Citizens have the right to
freedom of belief and religion, and may practice or not practice any religion. All religions are
equal before the law. Law protects public places of religious worship. No one has the right to
infringe on the freedom of belief and religion or to take advantage of the latter to violate State
laws and policies(2015). Many preachers in Vietnam fled for America, because there were
government powers suppressing them for unreasonable reason. Julie Oosterhouse wrote, For
the Vietnam government, its not a question of spirituality and whose religion is true. Its a
question of influence. The government is clinging on to an old way of thinking, refusing to
consider Christians as good citizens- not people trying to overthrow the government
(Oosterhouse, 2015). Religion is only tolerated through temples and churches, but in the past
years it has improved a lot. The government is traditionally atheist, and after the Vietnam War
the communists restricted religious freedoms completely. Throughout the 90s and the 2000s,
Vietnam is undergoing religious restoration. Although, religion in a communist country will
always surface an issue the steps made towards serving it have improved.

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Living in Vietnam would be very difficult for me considering I believe in Christianity. Also,
knowing your faith and beliefs are not the backbone of your country is a little frightening.
Religion can and always is a touchy subject, and in Vietnam this is for sure the case. I believe
that the country is always going to be a communist one unless someone is brave enough to
realize that it cannot be ran without the belief of Jesus Christ.

References
Jaa, T. (2014). Sacred Places in Vietnam. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from
http://www.toursinvietnam.com/vietnam-travel-guide/sacred-places-in-vietnam.html
Oosterhouse,J.(2015,May12).Vietnam:Communismastumblingblockforreligiousfreedom
MissionNetworkNews.RetrievedOctober21,2015,from
https://www.mnnonline.org/news/vietnamcommunismastumblingblockforreligious
freedom/

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ReligionandBeliefConsulateGeneralofVietnaminHouston.(2015).RetrievedOctober21,
2015,fromhttp://vietnamconsulateinhouston.org/en/generalinformation/religionand
belief
Te,Huunj.ReligionoftheVietnamese.Vietspring.2015.Web21Oct.2014.
http://www.vietspring.org/religion/religioninvn.html
Tuan,N.(n.d.).ReligionandBeliefs.RetrievedOctober21,2015,from
http://english.doanthanhnien.vn/Articlecategory/339/Religion.htm

http://rcxd5religions.weebly.com/religions.html
In the bottom right hand corner you see the country labeled Vietnam. The color turquoise
indicates to use that the majority of the country is dominated by the religions
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

http://ljhsytruong.pbworks.com/w/page/23003759/Vietnam's%20Religions
The pie chart reveals to us that the multitudes of people have no religious beliefs at all, and if
they do have beliefs they happen to be Buddhist.

http://www.vnhog.com/news/9-famous-temples-and-pagodas-in-hanoi.42.html

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This is the Ngoc Son Temple, which is a sacred place to believers and non-believers, but most
importantly to the Buddhist people. This is a place to worship and praise whomever you
please.

http://halongmarathon.com/vietnam/tin-nguong-va-ton-giao-o-viet-nam.html#.VifnOtb4vlI
This is a Caodaism church congregating on a Sunday morning. Notice they are sitting down on
the ground and they all are very formal and in sync with one another.