This point of view has been developed into provisions in the Constitution and laws and implemented in real life, contributing to ensuring and improving human rights, consolidating the national great unity bloc, generating spiritual and material resources for the development of the society.
Rights to freedom of religion and beliefs in Vietnam’s constitutions
After the success of the August Revolution in 1945, at the first meeting of the Government Council (September 1945), President Ho Chi Minh stressed the policy of “religious freedom and solidarity among religions.” That thought of President Ho Chi Minh has been continued to be implemented during the Party’s leadership. The respect for and protection of freedom of worshiping and religious practices have always been manifested in all versions of the Constitution of Vietnam.
Buddhist dignitaries and followers attending the Buddha's birthday in Da Nang. Source: daidoanket.vn
In 1946, the first Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam prescribed: “All the State power belongs to the people of Vietnam, regardless of race, gender, rich or poor, class, religions” and “The citizens of Vietnam has the rights to freedom of religion.”
In the 1959 Constitution, the rights to freedom of religion and belief continued to be re-affirmed and expanded. Not only do citizens have the right to “follow a religion,” but also the right to “not follow any religion.” Article 26 of the Constitution defines, “Citizens of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam have the rights to freedom of belief, following or not following a religion.”
Further developing the 1946 Constitution and the 1959 Constitution, the 1980 Constitution, in addition to recognizing the rights to freedom of belief and religion, includes the content preventing bad people from abusing freedom of religion to do illegal things and sabotage the achievements of the revolution... “Citizens have the rights to freedom of belief, following or not following a religion; no one shall take advantage of freedom of religion to violate the laws and policies of the State.” (Article 68).
In the “doi moi” (renewal) period, in the face of the rapid changes and the requirements of the national construction and development, the rights to freedom of religion and belief of the people continued to be upheld. Article 70 of the 1992 Constitution clearly states, “Citizens have the rights to freedom of belief and religion, following or not following a religion. All religions are equal in front of the law. Religious worshiping sites are protected by law. No one may infringe on freedom of belief and religion or abuse that freedom to violate the laws and policies of the State.”
On November 28, 2013, the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted the 2013 Constitution, defining more comprehensively civil and political rights of the people. Freedom of belief and religion is prescribed quite comprehensively and completely, ensuring democracy and respect and creating the best conditions for people to practice their beliefs and religions. Article 24 of the 2013 Constitution clearly states, “Everyone has the rights to freedom of belief and religion, following or not following a religion. All religions are equal in front of the law. No one may violate freedom of belief and religion or abuse that freedom to break the law.”
To concretize the provisions in the Constitution and institutionalize the State’s policies on the rights to freedom of belief and religion in conformity with international legal documents on human rights which Vietnam has participated in, a system of legal documents, ordinances, and directives on religions and beliefs has been built and completed. Laws like the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Land Code, the Law on Education, etc. all have provisions prescribing the principle of non-discrimination towards religious followers. According to Article 164 of the Criminal Code (amended), offenders of freedom of belief and religion of citizens may be sentenced to between three months and one year of imprisonment.
Particularly, on November 18, 2016, the National Assembly passed the Law on Beliefs and Religions, which prescribes, “Everyone has the rights to freedom of belief, religion, following or not following a religion. Each person has the right to express his or her religious belief, practicing religious beliefs’ rites, participate in festivals, study and practice religious catechisms and canons.
Reality of religious practices in Vietnam
Vietnam is a multi-religious country with a variety of large religions introduced to the country for thousands of years now, such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Muslim. Vietnam also has religions and beliefs that were born in Vietnam, such as Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Tu An, Hieu Nghia, and more. The guidelines and policies to guarantee the respect for and implementation of the rights to freedom of belief and religion are not only defined in the Constitution, laws and directives, resolutions of the Party but also implemented in reality.
It is estimated that 95% of the population of Vietnam practice their belief and religious rites, including over 24 million religious followers (about 27% of the population) of 38 religious organizations. The country has nearly 53,000 religious dignitaries, 133,700 religious positions ,and about 27,900 worshiping sites. Major religious holidays, such as Christmas of Catholicism, Buddha Day (Vesak) of Buddhism, are held solemnly with religious rituals. There are about 8,500 national- and local-level festivals of different religions and beliefs.
Religious organizations have registered for the protection of the law for their religious activities, opened schools for dignitaries, published books, repaired and built worshiping sites in accordance with the law. There are now four Buddhist institutes, one Buddhist college, and 32 Buddhist schools, one Catholic academy, seven Catholic major seminaries and one branch of St. Joseph Major Seminary in Hanoi. The Protestant Church has a Theological Bible Institute and a Theological Bible School. Most of the religious organizations run their newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. According to statistics, since 2006, the Religion Publishing House has issued publishing permits for 8,683 publications, including 14,535,464 copies of 4,725 books. On the average, each year thousands of religious publications are permitted to be published in various languages, such as English, French, Khmer, Ede, Jarai, Banah, etc.
With the view of “all ethnic groups are equal and practice solidarity and mutual respect for development,” the Vietnamese State respects and protects the rights to freedom and equality of beliefs and religions among ethnic groups. International religious activities in Vietnam have also been expanding. The Vatican has appointed a non-resident special envoy to Vietnam. Every year, hundreds of Vietnamese religious dignitaries attend religious activities abroad and thousands of foreign religious followers enter Vietnam to preach and take part in religious activities and events. Vietnam has successfully hosted many important religious events, highly appreciated both at home and internationally, including the UN Day of Vesak in Hanoi in 2008 attracting 1,500 delegates from 74 countries and territories and in Ninh Binh province in 2014 with the participation of more than 1,000 dignitaries from 95 countries and territories.