Viet Nam Human Rights
Freedom of Religion and Belief in Viet Nam
27/2/14
I have traveled to
a lot of countries around the world, and I have so many friends in those
countries. They really wanted to know about our country, a small and poor
country, as they know on the Internet, Facebook… but could defeated powerful
countries like France, the US, China to protect the solemn sovereignty.
They also wanted to visit Vietnam
to discover our traditional cultute, especially our religion. Some of my
foreign friends were even wondering whether the Government led by a communist party
would like to let religion to develop.
After finishing my
busy time of work and to answer the questions of my beloved friends, I have
spent some times to find out some most general information about our country to
share with all of you today.
Viet Nam is a multi-religion country with many religions from
other countries such as Buddhism, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, etc. and some
other religions established in Viet
Nam namely Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Four
Debts of Gratitude, etc. Many religions have long histories in Viet Nam
and some are newly established. 95% of all the people have some forms of
belief, of them over 24 million are followers of different religions (compared
to about 20 million of 2009). There are about 25 thousand worshipping places
and 45 dignitary training centres.
The consistent
policy of Viet Nam is to respect and facilitate the exercise of the right to
freedom of religion and belief by all the people, uphold the solidarity and
harmony among religions, guarantee the equality and non-discrimination as well
as protect activities of religious groups by law. Based on the assessment of
religious activities in Viet
Nam, in November 2012, the Government issued
Decree 92/2012/ND-CP on guidance for the implementation of the Ordinance on
Religion and Belief. The Decree 92 has many new features which are realistic
and create favourable conditions for religious activities. Besides, the
National Assembly has decided to have the plan on amendment of the Ordinance on
Religions and Beliefs in the law and ordinance establishment programme of the
XIII National Assembly.
Viet Nam has had many religious activities. Yearly, there are
about 8,500 religious festivals at national and regional levels. Especially,
the 2011 Holy Year of the Catholic Church was a great success. At the closing
ceremony, there were 50 bishops (6 of them are foreigners), 1000 priests, 2000
dignitaries and nearly 500,000 believers. 2011 was also the 100th anniversary
of Protestantism in Viet Nam
with many large activities held in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh city
with the participation of many dignitaries and followers from all over the
country as well as from other countries namely the USA,
South Korea,
etc. The Buddhist Church of Viet Nam will host the UN Vesak Day in 2014, which
is a big and famous religious event attracting thousands of Buddhist
dignitaries and followers in the world. A great number of worshipping places
have been renovated or built. Training for religious dignitaries has been maintained
and extended. Many have been sent to other countries (the USA, France,
Italia, India, etc.) for further training.
Religious organizations have been facilitated and encouraged and they actively
contribute to the development of healthcare systems, culture, social affairs
and humanitarian causes. They have contributed significantly to national
development and the expansion of Viet Nam’s international relations.
Religious representatives have participated in international fora, religious
dialogues, exchanges of knowledge and canons in such fora as ASEM, ASEAN... In
2013, Viet Nam and the Vatican
also successfully conducted the fourth round of the joint working group meeting
on the strengthening of bilateral relations and cooperation. Since Vatican appointed a non-permanent envoy in Viet Nam in 2011, this envoy had worked with 26
dioceses and 60 cities and provinces in Viet Nam.
Freedom of
religion and belief of people from ethnic minorities are also protected and
promoted by the State. The Khmer Nam Tong Buddhist Institute was established
and books in Khmer language are imported to facilitate dignitary training and
religious practices of the Khmer people. The Cham followers of Muslim and
Brahman have been supported in the establishment of the Community representative
boards in order to assist the religious practices, preserve and expand the
traditional religions. Bilingual bibles (Viet-Bahnar, Viet-Ede, Viet-Jrai) were
published to meet the demand of religious practices of ethnic minority
followers.
Genally speaking,
the State of Viet Nam has been implementing a variety of policies and measures
to ensure that people fully enjoy rights to freedom of religion and belief.
So now, you, my
friends, can you see how free and interesting is the religion in our country.
If you want to witness your eyes, come and see it. I can sure that you would love
it and want to visit our country more times. I’m waiting to see you…
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All comments [ 4 ]
Vietnamese people are free to chose their own religion.
They also aren't forced to follow any religions or folk beliefs
The statistics prove a fact that Vietnam is a free country
International friends come and visit our country, I sure that we will be good friends!
Your comments