Islam

Much like Hinduism, adherence to Islam in Vietnam is primarily associated with the Cham ethnic minority, although there is also a Muslim population of mixed ethnic origins, also known as Cham, or Cham Muslims, in the southwest (Mekong Delta) of the country. Islam is assumed to have come to Vietnam much after its arrival in China during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), through contact with Arab traders. The number of followers began to increase as contacts with Sultanate of Malacca broadened in the wake of the 1471 collapse of the Champa Kingdom, but Islam would not become widespread among the Cham until the mid-17th century. In the mid-19th century, many Muslims Chams emigrated from Cambodia and settled in the Mekong River Delta region, further bolstering the presence of Islam in Vietnam.

 

Vietnam's Muslims remained relatively isolated from the mainstream of world Islam, and their isolation, combined with the lack of religious schools, caused the practice of Islam in Vietnam to become syncretic. Although the Chams follow a localised adaptation of Islamic theology, they consider themselves Muslims. However, they pray only on Fridays and celebrate Ramadan for only three days. Circumcision is performed not physically, but symbolically, with a religious leader making the gestures of circumcision with a wooden toy knife.

Vietnam's largest mosque was opened in January 2006 in Xuan Loc, Dong Nai Province; its construction was partially funded by donations from Saudi Arabia.

A 2005 census counted over 66,000 Muslims in Vietnam, up from 63,000 in 1999. Over 77% lived in the Southeast Region, with 34% in Ninh Thuan Province, 24% in Binh Thuan Province, and 9% in Ho Chi Minh City; another 22% lived in the Mekong River Delta region, primarily in An Giang Province. In Ninh Thuan Province, where most of the Cham in Vietnam reside, Cham Bani (Muslim Cham) number close to 22,000. Out of the 22 villages in Ninh Thuan, 7 are Muslim.

Read Full story

Roman Catholicism

By far the most widespread Christian church in Vietnam, Roman Catholicism first entered the country through Portuguese Catholic missionaries in the 16th century and strengthened its influence during French colonial rule. While the earliest missions were only mildly successful at gaining converts, later missions by Jesuit missionaries eventually saw the definitive establishment of Christian centres within the local population. 

Jesuit missionary Alexandre De Rhodes, who worked in Vietnam between 1624 and 1644, was perhaps the most notable missionary of this period. Among other achievements, he made a significant and lasting contribution to Vietnamese culture by developing an alphabet for the Vietnamese language in concert with Vietnamese scholars and based on the work of earlier Portuguese missionaries. The use of this alphabet, based on the Latin script with added diacritic marks, was originally intended to help reinforce teaching and evangelization efforts. It is still in use, and is now referred to as Quốc Ngữ (national language).

The French missionary priest Pigneau de Behaine played a key role in Vietnamese history towards the end of the 18th century by befriending Nguyễn Ánh, the most senior of the ruling Nguyễn lords to have escaped the rebellion of the Tây Sơn brothers in 1777. Becoming Nguyễn Ánh's loyal confidant, benefactor and military advisor during his time of need, he was able to gain a great deal of favor for the Church. During Nguyễn Ánh's subsequent rule as Emperor Gia Long, the Catholic faith was permitted unimpeded missionary activities out of his respect to his benefactors. By the time of the Emperor's accession in 1802, Vietnam had 3 Catholic dioceses with 320,000 members and over 120 Vietnamese priests.

According to the Catholic Hierarchy Catalog, there are currently 5,658,000 Catholics in Vietnam, representing 6.87% of the total population. There are 26 dioceses (including three archdioceses) with 2228 parishes and 2668 priests.

Read Full story

Vietnamese Buddhism

Historically Buddhism in Vietnam is predominantly of the Mahayana form, the Theravada tradition is well recognized and is experiencing a growing interest especially in the practice of meditation since 1920.

Buddhist entered Vietnam in two significant waves. The first was a missionary wave of Mahayana scholars from India in the first century CE. From olden days, the South China Sea border, known as Indochina, had commercial links with India and it was a popular place visited by many Indian Buddhist missionary monks on their way to China. By the end of the 2nd century, Vietnam developed a major Buddhist center, called Luy-Lau center. A number of Mahayana sutras and the Agamas were translated into Chinese script at that center. The second wave of Buddhist thought occurred about two hundred years later when Theravada was introduced in the region. Both of these schools of Buddhist thought co-existed throughout Vietnam. In the 6th and 7th century Mahayana flourished, and century reached to the peak in the 12th.

When Vietnam was established as an independent state in 939 at the fall of the T'ang dynasty, it was the Buddhist monks who, being the sole true holders of knowledge, helped the first dynasties to consolidate their power. Under the earlier Le and Ly dynasties, Vietnamese literature was constituted a great deal of learned poetry and of Buddhist inspiration composed by monks.

The monk Van Hanh helped king Ly Cong Uan to get rid of the Dinh decadents and found the Ly dynasty (1009-1225). Van Hanh was not only a talented politician but also a poet. The Ly dynasty owed it rise to the influence and counsel of this monk, which explained why Buddhism would become the state religion. Many of the sovereigns of this dynasty belonged to the sects Thien (Ch'an in Chinese). They granted great favors to Buddhism, in particular Ly' Tha'i Tôn, who, in 1031, after his victory over Champa, had over one hundred fifty monasteries built. In spite of the beneficial influence of Buddhism, for the needs of a methodical organization and an effective administration of the country, the Ly dynasty had to adopt the Chinese model at all echelons of administration.

The predominant form of Buddhism in Vietnam is a combination of Pure Land and Zen. Zen practice, with its emphasis on meditation is mostly pursued among the monks and nuns, while Pure Land philosophy and practice is preferred by the lay-people.

From the 11th to the 15th century, unlike its South East Asian neighbors to follow the Theravada tradition, Vietnam was strongly impacted by the Chinese and is first one to integrate Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian traditions. As a result, many Taoist symbols and meditation tools became mainstreamed into Vietnamese Buddhist thought. The most part of Vietnamese scholars at that time were only Buddhist monks who knew Chinese and Sanskrit perfectly well.

Buddhism continued to exert a dominating influence under the Tran dynasty. Even one of them, king Trâ`n Nhân Tôn , after having abdicated and retired to a monastery, founded a new sect Thiê`n (Zen) or that of Forest of Bamboo that continue to exist up to now. Buddhism declined and yielded to Confucianism only at the end of 13th century. One continued to see the decline of Buddhism until 1963.

In the 1920s and 1930s, there were a number of movements in Vietnam for the revival and modernization of Buddhist activities. This includes the re-organization of Mahayana and a growing interest in Theravadin meditation and Pali Canon. In the 1960s and 1970s, a number of Vietnamese bhikkhus were sent overseas for further training, mostly in Thailand and some in Sri Lanka and India.

Read Full story

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.

Read Full story