THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF VIETNAM

Part 1: Geographical, Political, and Religious Demographics

Vietnam has an area of 127,207 square miles and is located in Southeast Asia. The country has a coastline of nearly 1,440 miles (2,317 kilometers), much of which fronts on the South China Sea. Border countries are China, Cambodia, and Laos.

The current government is a Socialist Republic. The population of Vietnam in the early 1990s was estimated at more than 67 million. Birth- and death rates respectively were 31 and 9 per thousand. The natural rate of increase per year is 2.3 percent. If this rate continued, the population of the country would double within 30 years. The average life expectancy is 60 years.

The three traditional religions are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Buddhism was brought into Vietnam from China in the 2nd century AD and has the largest number of followers. About 32 million Vietnamese follow Buddhism, and most of these followers are Mahayana Buddhists (see Buddhism). Both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism are practiced. Most of Vietnam's Theravada Buddhists are Khmer Krom. They number about 900,000 and live in southern and southwestern Vietnam. It is this group that has supplied the Vietnamese army in Cambodia with interpreters and staff for its government there. Confucianism serves as a means of forming social patterns. Rules for social interaction, the cult of ancestor worship, and the male-dominated family structure are by-products of the religion. Roman Catholicism was introduced into Vietnam in the 16th century and flourished especially under the French. There are about 2 million followers of the religion today.

Part 2: Dominant Religious Traditions

Buddhism is the main religion in Vietnam. Buddhism is when you go through the act of self-denial and right thinking to reach the state of nirvana. Nirvana is any place or condition of great peace or bliss. One of the main forms of Buddhism practiced is theraveda. Theravada is a form of Buddhism stressing the original monastic discipline and attainment of nirvana by meditation. The other form of Buddhism that is practiced is Mahayana. Mahayana is a branch of Buddhism stressing idealism, disinterested love, and relief of the suffering of others. Confucianism is another popular religion, but it is mainly served as a means of forming social patterns. It is used as a form of conduct and how you should act and how to think. It is not a major religion in Vietnam as Buddhism. Taoism is a minor religion and does not have that many followers. Taoism is a Chinese religion and philosophy based on the doctrines of Laotzu and advocating simplicity, and selflessness. There are about 2 million Catholics in Vietnam. This is also a minor religion and not that widespread in Vietnam.

Part 3: Church-state Relationships

The government tolerates religion and permits religious services but restricts conversion activities and growth in general. Reports indicate that the Roman Catholic Church is a special target for control, and as a result church membership has begun to dwindle. Since 1975 government authorities have attempted to suppress and intimidate the Mahayana Buddhist leaders. Temples have been closed, and monks have been forced into reeducation camps. The Government is simply trying to control he religious beliefs of Vietnams people. It is slowly taking over. The Government is afraid of a strong religion due to the fact that it could be dangerous because of uprisings and the overthrowing of the government. They see it in other countries so they are stopping what they think could be and economic disaster for its country.

Part 4: Minority Traditions

All of the religions in Vietnam are peaceful and get along with each other. Buddhism and Taoism are the most peaceful. Their beliefs consist of not hurting anything living, so they are of no threat to anyone. Roman Catholic is not as widespread so they are of no danger, and it is mainly a peaceful religion. Confucianism is not really even practiced as a religion but more of a tool to be used in social gatherings.

Part 6: My Assessment

When it comes to Religion in Vietnam it has a lot of problems. The majority of people in Vietnam are trying to just live their lives through peaceful religion, and the government is doing their best to control everyone. The government wants everyone to be in their control, they do not want to worry about an uprising due to religious and government differences. The government wants Vietnam to be all one religion so everyone has one option and they all believe in the same things. They want everyone to get along so little disagreement do not become major problems. It is the basic communist government. Pretty soon things will get worse and everyone will go to war. Things can only get worse for Vietnam. The only way to save Vietnam from war is too convince the government that everyone will be okay if you let them live their own lives. If you give a country religious freedom things will be a lot more peaceful and safe. Religious freedom is the best answer for Vietnam.