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Christianity was first introduced to Vietnam [1] in 16th century and established a solid position in Vietnamese society since 17-18th centuries. At present Vietnam has the fourth-largest Roman Catholic population in Asia, after the Philippines, India and possibly the People's Republic of China.[2] Roman Catholics and Protestants today constitute 7% and 1% of the country population accordingly; the newest census of Government shows that is 8% (7% Catholic and 1% Protestant) [3]. Christian communes still remain under control of state authorities [4]. Foreign missionaries legally are not allowed to proselytize or perform religious activities without government approval[4]. Undeclared missionaries from several countries are active in Vietnam.[citation needed]
[edit] Roman Catholics
Roman Catholicism first entered Vietnam through Catholic missionaries in 16th century and strengthened its influence when Vietnam was a French colony. France encouraged Catholicism [5].
The most active introducers of Western enlightenment were the Jesuits, who were, at that time, in the prime of their exploratory efforts. The Franciscans, Dominicans, and others, although prominent, never reached the influence of the Jesuits who were determined to plant the spiritual and cultural power of Roman Catholic Church in Southeast Asia. Having arrived there about 1627, they developed their activities in many fields. Their activities were helped by the printing of the first Bible in 1651, and the growing influence of several individuals, who were welcomed in certain powerful circles. Jesuit missionary Alexandre De Rhodes created in 17th century a written system of Vietnamese language largely using the Roman alphabet - it is used today and now called Quốc Ngữ (national language).
After the end of the French rule and Vietnam division in mid-1950s, Catholicism declined in the North, where the communists regarded it as a reactionary force opposed to national liberation and social progress. In the South, by contrast, Catholicism was expanded under the presidency of Ngo Dinh Diem, who promoted it as an important bulwark against North Vietnam. Diem gave extra rights to the Catholic Church and preferentially promoted Catholic military officers while restricting Buddhism. In 1955 approximately 600,000 Catholics remained in the North after an estimated 650,000 had fled to the South.
In 1975 the Communist authorities, which united the country by military force and after the US troops withdrawal, claimed that the religious activities of Roman Catholics were stabilized and that there was no religious persecution. Meanwhile, the Government acted to isolate and to neutralize hard-core opposition within local Catholics to party policy and to persuade less strongly opposed factions to join a party-controlled "renovation and reconciliation" movement. A significant number of Vietnamese Roman Catholics, however, remained opposed to communist authority.
In 1988 all Vietnamese Catholics, who died for their faith from 1533 to present time, were canonized by Pope John Paul II as Vietnamese Martyrs [6].
[edit] Roman Catholic dioceses
There are 26 dioceses including three archdioceses. The Archdioceses are:
The dioceses are:
[8]
[edit] Protestants
Protestantism was introduced in 1911 at Da Nang by the Canadian missionary Robert A. Jaffray. As part of the Christian Missionary Alliance, over 100 missionaries were sent to Vietnam, assisting the faith's growth in the country.
By 1967 information, Protestant communities were represented mainly within South Vietnam. Those communities included the French Reformed Church, Anglican-Episcopalian[disambiguation needed], Christian and Missionary Alliance, Baptists, Church of Christ, Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, and Seventh-day Adventists. Other Protestant associations were also represented in some social services and welfare agencies. In 1967 there were 150,000 Protestant adherents in South Vietnam, representing about 1% of the total population[9].
Protestant communes in the North decreased in membership to about 1,200 by the end of the Vietnam war. Several Protestant church properties were confiscated during the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975.
Protestants in the early 1980s, mostly located in the Montagnard communities in southern Vietnam's central highlands. [3]
Present estimates of the number of Protestants range from the official government figure of 500,000 to claims by churches of 1,600,000 or more. The two officially recognized Protestant churches are the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV), recognized in 2001, and the smaller Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN), recognized since 1963. The SECV had affiliated churches in the southern provinces of the country. 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. Based on believers' estimates, two-thirds of Protestants were members of ethnic minorities, including Hmong, Dzao, Thai, and other minority groups in the Northwest Highlands, and members of ethnic minority groups of the Central Highlands (Ede, Jarai, Bahnar, and Koho, among others). [10]
Nowadays at least 50 % of the Protestant population are tribal people. [1] Particlularly Hmong and Hre tribals suffer from persecution of Christians. [11] By May, 2006, over 300 Montagnard people remained in Vietnamese prisons for their faith.[12]A young Hroi (ethnic minority) man who refused to reject his Christian faith reportedly died from injuries received under official interrogation in April 2007.[13] By the 2008 estimates of Release International, many Christians from Vietnam’s tribal highlands are still regarded as enemies and targeted as "agents of America". They are reportedly beaten, tortured and starved behind bars, despite the official claims and guarantees for freedom of religion[14].
Mennonite and Baptist movements were officially recognized by Hanoi in October, 2007, which was estimated as some improvement of religious freedom in the country[15]. Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, provisional president of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, taking part in the official ceremony of the above authorisation, quoted his Church’s motto: "Living the Gospel, worshipping God, and serving the nation." [15].
[edit] Bible translations in Vietnamese
Although the modern Vietnamese alphabet was created in the 17th century by Jesuit missionary Alexandre De Rhodes, the first Bible books translated for common use into Vietnamese appeared only in 1872. In 1963 the Bible in Vietnamese was published by the Roman Catholic Church.
Other Bible translations were made by Protestants in 1926 and 1991. [16]
The organized work of United Bible Societies in Vietnam began in 1890. In 1966 the Vietnamese Bible Society was established. The Bible societies distributed 53,170 Bible examples and 120,170 New Testament examples in Vietnamese within the country in 2005.[17]
[edit] Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy in Vietnam is presented by a parish of Russian Orthodox Church in Vungtau, where there are many Russian-speaking employees of the Russian-Vietnamese Joint Venture "Vietsovpetro".
The parish named after Our Lady of Kazan icon was opened in 2002 with the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which had been given in Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra.
The representatives of foreign relations department of the Russian Orthodox Church from time to time come to Vungtau for conducting Orthodox divine service[18].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Open Doors International : Vietnam
- ^ [1]
- ^ Vietnam Affirms Consistent Policy on Religion: White Paper
- ^ a b US State Department Country Report 2006 on Vietnam
- ^ [2]
- ^ Catholic Forum
- ^ "Catholic Dioceses in Vietnam". Giga-Catholic Information. 2007-05-10. http://www.gcatholic.com/dioceses/data/countryVN.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-15.
- ^ GCatholic Directory
- ^ Protestantism in South Vietnam, US Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Chaplains Division, 1967
- ^ Vietnam
- ^ Open Doors International : The Church in Vietnam
- ^ Montagnard Foundation
- ^ BosNewsLife News Center
- ^ Christian Today Magazine
- ^ a b Hanoi officially recognises Baptists and Mennonites, AsiaNews
- ^ History of the Vietnamese Bible
- ^ Bible Society work in Vietnam
- ^ Russian Orthodox Portal, in Russian
- Hudson Institute. "Vietnam Steps up Persecution of Hmong Christians". Center for Religious Freedom. 2005. [4]
- Montagnard Foundation press release, 2006. RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN VIETNAM AS DEGAR CHRISTIANS ARE TORTURED FOR THEIR FAITH [5]
- Christianity with an Asian Face: Asian-American Theology in the Making. By Peter C. Phan. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2003. xvii + 253 pp.
- Report on Vietnam by International Christian Concern [6]
- Christian persecution in Vietnam. Report by CSW [7]
[edit] External links
The Constitution provides for freedom of worship; however, government restrictions still remained on the organized activities of religious groups.
The status for the respect of religious freedom and practice continued to experience important improvements during the reporting period. The Government deepened implementation of its 2004 Ordinance on Religion and Belief and supplemental decrees on religious policy issued in 2005, (referred to as the Government's "legal framework on religion.") New congregations were registered throughout the country's 64 provinces; a number of religious denominations were registered at the national level; and citizens were generally allowed to practice religion more freely. Improving economic conditions in the country also allowed for greater access to religious practice and resources. In recognition of its "significant improvements towards advancing religious freedom," the U.S. Department of State lifted the country's designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for Religious Freedom in November 2006.
Despite progress during the reporting period, problems remained in the implementation of the country's legal framework on religion. These included slowness, and in some cases inaction, in the registration of Protestant congregations in northern Vietnam and the Northwest Highlands; inconsistent application of procedures for congregation registration and other legal requirements; ongoing restrictions on religious recruitment; difficulties in the establishment of Catholic seminaries and Protestant pastor training courses; and unresolved land expropriation claims involving a number of religious denominations. Some provincial authorities were more active, while others appeared not to consider positive and consistent implementation of the legal framework on religion as a priority. The Government rejected the appointment of two Catholic bishops endorsed by the Vatican. However, the Catholic Church reported that the Government generally continued to ease restrictions on church assignment of new clergy, and the Church indicated that it had begun exploring with government authorities the establishment of additional Catholic seminaries.
The Government continued to remain concerned that some ethnic minority groups active in the Central Highlands were operating a self-styled "Dega Church," which reportedly mixes religious practice with political activism and calls for ethnic minority separatism. The Government also actively restricted the leadership of the unrecognized Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) and maintained that it would not recognize this organization under its current leadership. The Government maintained a prominent role overseeing recognized religions. Religious groups encountered the greatest restrictions when they engaged in activities that the Government perceived as political activism or a challenge to its rule. The Government continued to ban and actively discourage participation in one unrecognized faction of the Hoa Hao Buddhists. Government authorities imprisoned and disrobed a number of ethnic Khmer Buddhists for their involvement in antigovernment protests in the Mekong Delta in early 2007. Some religious figures, including Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly and Protestant pastor Nguyen Van Dai, were sentenced to prison terms for their political activism.
Nevertheless, overall respect for religious freedom improved during the period covered by this report. Participation in religious activities throughout the country continued to grow, and Protestant believers in the Central Highlands continued to report significant improvements in their situation. Approximately 40 Protestant house churches were registered in northern Vietnam and hundreds in southern Vietnam during the reporting period. However, hundreds of other applications remained pending, especially in the Northwest Highlands. For the first time since 1975, the Government authorized the printing of Bibles in three ethnic minority languages in the Central Highlands. During the reporting period, Protestantism remained the country's fastest growing religion among its six recognized faiths – Buddhism, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Caodaism, and Islam.
The Government registered several new religious denominations during the reporting period, including the Vietnam Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Grace Baptist Church, the United World Mission Church, one faction of the Mennonite church, the Baha'i Faith, and two smaller Buddhist groups--the Tu An Hieu Nghia group and the Pure Land Buddhist Home Practice Association.
During the reporting period, the national and some provincial Committees on Religious Affairs (CRA) were active in resolving religion-related problems and concerns. The national CRA organized a number of programs to offer training to members of religious denominations on legal registration procedures and to local authorities on how to implement the national legal framework on religion. On the occasion of the Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Summit and the visit of President George W. Bush to Hanoi in November 2006, the country's first-ever ecumenical religious service was held, led by the Catholic archdiocese of Hanoi and the Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN). In January 2007 the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited the Vatican and met with Pope Benedict XVI, and in March 2007, an official delegation from the Vatican reciprocated by visiting the country.
Protestants and Catholics across the north reported improvement in most officials' attitude towards their religion, and in general Protestants and Catholics were allowed to gather for worship without harassment, despite some isolated incidents. Christmas and Easter holidays passed generally without incident in the country. In the fall of 2006, the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) reported its first-ever graduating class of 219 ordained pastors since the organization was officially recognized in 2001. During the reporting period, the Government welcomed the return of Buddhist Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for a series of "reconciliation prayer events" in Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Hanoi.
There were no known instances of societal discrimination or violence based on religion during the reporting period.
In September 2004 then-Secretary of State Colin Powell designated the country a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. In November 2006 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice lifted the country's CPC designation, noting that the country could "no longer be identified as a severe violator of religious freedom" as defined by the Act.
Although the international media highlighted arrests and detentions of several political dissidents in early 2007, all individuals raised by the United States as prisoners of concern for reasons connected to their faith have been freed by the Government. Some religious sources have cited diplomatic intervention, primarily from the United States, as a reason why the Government is seeking to legalize more religious groups.
[edit] Religious demography
The country has an area of 127,000 square miles (330,000 km2) and a population of 83.5 million. Some estimates suggested that more than half of the population is at least nominally Buddhist. The Roman Catholic Church comprises 8 to 10 percent, several Cao Dai organizations comprise 1.5 to 3 percent, one Hoa Hao organization 1.5 to 4 percent, two Protestant organizations 0.5 to 2 percent, and one Muslim organization less than 0.1 percent of the population. Most other citizens consider themselves non-religious, although many practice traditional beliefs such as veneration of ancestors and national heroes.
Buddhism is the dominant religious belief. Many Buddhists practice an amalgam of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucian traditions that sometimes is called the "triple religion." The Committee for Religious Affairs cited an estimate of 12 percent (10 million) practicing Mahayana Buddhists, most of whom are members of the ethnic Kinh majority and found throughout the country, especially in the populous areas of the northern and southern delta regions. There are proportionately fewer Buddhists in certain highland areas, although migration of Kinh to these areas is changing this distribution. A Khmer ethnic minority in the south practices Theravada Buddhism. Numbering more than one million persons, they live almost exclusively in the Mekong Delta.
There are an estimated six to eight million Catholics in the country, although official Government statistics put the number at 5.9 million. Catholics live throughout the country, but the largest concentrations remain in the southern provinces around Ho Chi Minh City, in parts of the Central Highlands, and in the provinces southeast of Hanoi. Catholicism has in recent years revived in many areas, with newly rebuilt or renovated churches and growing numbers of persons who want to be religious workers.
Official government statistics put the number of Cao Dai at 2.3 million, although Cao Dai officials routinely claim as many as four million adherents. Cao Dai groups are most active in Tay Ninh Province, where the Cao Dai "Holy See" is located, in Ho Chi Minh City, and throughout the Mekong Delta. There are 13 separate groups within the Cao Dai religion; the largest is the Tay Ninh sect, which represents more than half of all Cao Dai believers. The Cao Dai religion is syncretistic, combining elements of many faiths.
According to the Government, there are 1.2 million Hoa Hao followers; affiliated expatriate groups estimate that there may be up to three million followers. Hoa Hao followers are concentrated in the Mekong Delta, particularly in provinces such as An Giang and Dong Thap, where the Hoa Hao were dominant as a social, political, and military force before 1975. The Government-recognized Hoa Hao Administrative Committee (HHAC) was organized in 1999. Some Hoa Hao belong to other sects that oppose the HHAC.
The two officially recognized Protestant churches are the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV), and the smaller Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN). Estimates of the number of Protestants in the country ranged from official Government figures of 610,000 to claims by churches of more than 1.6 million. There were estimates that the growth of Protestant believers has been as much as 600 percent over the past decade, despite past Government restrictions on proselytizing and other church activities. Some of these new converts belong to unregistered evangelical house churches. Based on adherents' estimates, two-thirds of Protestants are members of ethnic minorities, including H'mong, Dzao, Thai, and other minority groups in the Northwest Highlands, and members of ethnic minority groups of the Central Highlands (Ede, Jarai, and Mnong, among others).
Mosques serving the country's small Muslim population, estimated at between 50,000 to 80,000 persons, operate in western An Giang Province, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and provinces in the southern coastal part of the country. The Government officially estimates there are approximately 67,000 Muslim believers. The Muslim community is composed mainly of ethnic Cham, although in Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang Province it includes some ethnic Vietnamese and migrants originally from Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. Approximately half of the Muslims in the country are Sunnis, concentrated in five locations around the country. An estimated 15,000 live in Tan Chau district of western An Giang Province, which borders Cambodia. Nearly 3,000 live in western Tay Ninh Province, which also borders Cambodia. More than 5,000 reside in Ho Chi Minh City, with 2,000 residing in neighboring Dong Nai Province. Another 5,000 live in the south central coastal provinces of Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan. The other half of Muslims practices Bani Islam, a type of Islam unique to the ethnic Cham who live on the southern central coast.
There are several smaller religious communities, the largest of which is the Hindu community. Approximately 50,000 ethnic Cham in the south-central coastal area practice a devotional form of Hinduism. Another 4,000 Hindus live in Ho Chi Minh City; some are ethnic Cham, but most are Indian or of mixed Indian-Vietnamese descent.
There are an estimated 6,000 members of the Baha'i Faith, largely concentrated in the south. Prior to 1975 there were an estimated 200,000 believers, according to Baha'i officials. Open practice of the Baha'i Faith was banned from 1975 to 1992, and the number of believers dropped sharply during this time.
There are several hundred members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) throughout the country but primarily in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
At least 10 active but officially unrecognized congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses are present in the country, each reportedly with several hundred members. Most of the congregations are in the south, with five in Ho Chi Minh City.
At least 14 million citizens comprising 17 percent or more of the population reportedly do not practice any organized religion. Other sources strictly define those whose activities are limited to visiting pagodas on ceremonial holidays to not be practicing Buddhists. Using this stricter definition the number of nonreligious persons in the country would be much higher, perhaps reaching as many as 50 million. No statistics were available on the level of participation in formal religious services, but it was generally acknowledged that this number continued to increase since the early 1990s.
Ethnic minorities constitute approximately 14 percent of the overall population. Ethnic minorities historically practice different traditional beliefs than those of the ethnic majority Kinh. Many ethnic minorities, particularly among the H'mong, Dao, and Jarai groups in the Northwest and Central Highlands, have converted to Protestantism.
Undeclared missionaries from several countries are active in the country. Foreign missionaries legally are not permitted to proselytize or perform religious activities.
[edit] Status of religious freedom
[edit] Legal and policy framework
The Constitution, legal code, and a 2003 Communist Party Central Committee resolution on religion provide for freedom of belief and worship, as well as nonbelief; however, the Government required the registration of all activities by religious groups and used this requirement to restrict activities in certain cases. Further, the Government continued to significantly limit the organized activities of independent religious groups and those individuals who were regarded as a threat to party authority.
The new Ordinance on Religion and Belief which came into effect in November 2004, serves as the primary document governing religious practice. It reiterates citizens' rights to freedom of belief, freedom of religion, and freedom not to follow a religion, and it states that violations of these freedoms are prohibited. However, it advises that "abuse" of freedom of belief or religion "to undermine the country's peace, independence, and unity" is illegal and warns that religious activities must be suspended if they negatively affect the cultural traditions of the nation.
The Ordinance continues the practice of government control and oversight of religious organizations. Under its provisions, religious denominations must be officially recognized or registered, and the activities and leadership of individual religious congregations must be approved by the appropriate lower-level authorities. The establishment of seminaries and the organization of and enrollment in classes must also be approved by appropriate authorities. The naming of priests or other religious officials requires the approval of authorities only when a "foreign element," such as the Vatican, is involved. The ordinance also relaxes government oversight of religion to some extent. For example, religious organizations are required only to inform appropriate authorities of their annual activities or the investiture and transfer of clerics, while in the past this required explicit official approval. Further, the ordinance encourages religious groups to carry out charitable activities in health care and education, which were limited in the past.
In February 2005 the Prime Minister issued the "Instruction on Some Tasks Regarding Protestantism," which calls on authorities to facilitate the requests of recognized Protestant denominations to construct churches and to train and appoint pastors. Further, the instruction directs authorities to help unrecognized denominations register their congregations so that they can worship openly and move towards fulfilling the criteria required for full recognition. The instruction directs authorities in the Central and Northwest Highlands to help groups of Protestant believers register their religious activities and practice in homes or "suitable locations," even if they do not meet the criteria to establish an official congregation. The instruction also directs local officials to allow unregistered "house churches" to operate so long as they are "committed to follow regulations" and are not affiliated with separatist political movements.
In March 2005 the Government issued an implementing decree (Decree 22) that provided further guidance on the Ordinance on Religion and Belief. Like the ordinance, the decree explicitly bans forced renunciations of faith. It also delineates specific procedures by which an unrecognized religious organization can register its places of worship, its clerics, and its activities and thus operate openly. It further provides procedures for these groups to apply for official recognition from the Government to gain additional rights. The decree specifies that a religious organization must have 20 years of "stable religious operation" in the country in order to be recognized by the Government. It also states that past operation in the country can be counted toward this requirement. The decree further sets out specific time periods for the Government to consider requests from religious organizations and requires officials to give organizations an explanation in writing for any application that is rejected.
Implementing Decree 22 also clarifies the procedures through which religious organizations and individual religious congregations can seek official recognition. Recognized religious denominations, in principle, are allowed to open, operate, and refurbish places of worship, train religious leaders, and obtain permission for the publication of materials. To obtain official recognition, a denomination must first receive national-level registration. According to the legal framework, a religious organization must pass through three legal stages to receive national-level registration. First, it must apply for and receive registration in each local administrative area in which it operates. Registration requires a congregation to file information with relevant provincial authorities about its structure, leadership, and activities. Authorities then have 45 days to raise questions or concerns. National-level registrations have a 60-day consideration period. The CRA must issue a license before an organization is considered registered. Once a congregation is registered at the local level, it can apply for provincial and then national-level registration. Following a minimum 1-year waiting period, the eligible organization can apply for recognition and must receive Government approval of its leadership, its structure, and the overall scope of its activities.
Decree 22 further specifies that the appropriate authorities provide a written response to requests for official recognition within 30, 45, 60, or 90 days, depending on the scope of the request. Government officials rarely adhered to these response times, however. In the case of a refusal, a specific reason must be included in the written response, although this requirement also did not appear to be applied systematically. Moreover, there is no specific mechanism for appeal in the ordinance, nor are the reasons for denying a request restricted in any way.
The national-level Committee for Religious Affairs is charged with disseminating information about the new legal framework to authorities at the provincial, district, commune, and village levels and assuring uniform compliance. Implementation of the new legal framework at lower levels of the government continued to be mixed. During the reporting period, national and provincial authorities held a number of training courses for lower-level officials about the new laws to ensure their understanding and compliance with the legal framework. Authorities in some areas actively engaged religious leaders in efforts to implement the changes, particularly the registration of Protestant groups and the reopening of closed churches in the Central Highlands region. Some authorities in other areas, particularly in some parts of the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta, as well as the northern border area and Northwest Highlands provinces, were less active in enforcing the legal changes mandated by the central Government, although conditions for Protestants generally improved throughout the country during the reporting period.
National security and national solidarity provisions in the Constitution override laws and regulations providing for religious freedom, and these provisions reportedly have been used to impede religious gatherings and the spread of religion to certain ethnic groups. The Penal Code, as amended in 1997, established penalties for offenses that are defined only vaguely, including "attempting to undermine national unity" by promoting "division between religious believers and nonbelievers." In the past authorities used Article 258 of the Penal code to charge persons with practicing religion illegally. This article allows for prison terms of up to 3 years for "abus[ing] the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of press,
