Religion in Vietnam

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. 

Traditional belief: With the perception that every object has a soul, since the ancient time, the Vietnamese people have worshiped a large number of gods, especially those related to agriculture such as sun, moon, land, mountain, river and forest, etc. Each ethnic minority in Viet Nam has its own way of practicing its traditional beliefs, most noticeably those maintained by some ethnic groups such as Tay-Thai, Hmong-Dao, Hoa-San Diu-Ngai, Cham-Ede-Gia Rai, Mon-Khmer.

In addition, the most popular and time-honored custom of the Vietnamese people, including some ethnic minorities, is ancestor worship and commemoration of death anniversaries. Every Vietnamese family has an altar to worship their ancestors and attaches importance to the commemoration of death anniversaries of the predecessors. Beside ancestor worship in each family and each clan, many villages have a communal house or a temple to worship the Village Deity. The custom of worshiping the Village Deity is a unique feature of Vietnamese villages. The Village Deity worshiped in the village’s temple and communal house can be a god or an outstanding figure that rendered great service such as the forefather of a traditional handicraft or a national hero who greatly contributed to the cause of national building and fighting foreign invaders. The Vietnamese people also worship other gods like the Kitchen God and God of the Soil.

Viet Nam has six major religions, namely Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Muslim, Caodaism and Hoa Hao Buddhism.

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