Freedom of Religion and Belief in Viet Nam

27/2/14
                                                    Vietnamese Buddhists worshipping


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…
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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All comments [ 4 ]


Red Star 28/2/14 22:09

Vietnamese people are free to chose their own religion.

LawrenceSamuels 28/2/14 22:12

They also aren't forced to follow any religions or folk beliefs

Gentle Moon 28/2/14 22:16

The statistics prove a fact that Vietnam is a free country

John Smith 28/2/14 22:21

International friends come and visit our country, I sure that we will be good friends!

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