Jennifer Nguyen on Religion in Communist Vietnam

By: Jennifer Nguyen

August 18, 2008

One of the most popular sites in Saigon sits in the middle of the city’s most developed area. It is sandwiched between Diamond Plaza, Saigon’s acclaimed technological marvel housing a state-of-the-art movie theater, and the largest post office in the city. In Vietnamese, its name is Nha Tho Duc Ba—roughly translated it means Notre Dame Church. The church’s quiet and unassuming Catholic Masses are attended by fewer locals than a movie screening in Diamond Plaza. In many ways, it is a highly appropriate metaphor about the treatment of religion in Vietnam: As long as government and economic interests prevail, religious practice is tolerated.
Demographically, over 80 percent of Vietnam identifies as “non-religious,” yet this notion is offset by a visible religious past, a past embodied by a high volume of pagodas located in practically every district and neighborhood in Saigon. These temples are sacred grounds for Vietnam’s largest religious faith—the Buddhists. Also difficult to ignore are the striking number of Catholic churches, which represent the second largest religious following in Vietnam. The pagodas and churches are not mere relics; they are functioning sanctuaries of worship for their respective followers.

How are these institutions able to reconcile their teachings and practices with the lurking presence of a communist government? I received insight to the aforementioned question while riding a motorcycle through Thu Duc, the neighborhood of my Vietnamese host family. My host sister, doubling as my motorcyclist chauffeur, drove through a Catholic neighborhood consisting of over half a dozen churches. The illuminating glow of the churches in the night sky elicited only one comment from my host sister: “During Christmas, this neighborhood is beautiful. They put up lights.” That was it. No words about the religion, the people, or the practices. In Vietnam, a religion can be relegated to mere lights.

Although anecdotal in nature, the relegation of Christianity to Christmas lights represents the broader attitude of Vietnam’s communist government towards religion: Let religions practice…until the lights become brighter and louder than government doctrine. Although the Vietnamese government relays the rhetoric of religious freedom by allowing six official state religions to freely practice, moments of ostentatious or threatening practice have, at times, been interpreted as civil disobedience. A recent example is the recent arrest of pro-democracy Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly who, like a series of imprisoned Vietnamese religious figures, preached more than just Christmas lights.

Despite the high profile cases of religion clashing with politics, at a micro-level there exists indicators of a country steadily working towards religious liberty. Fear is not overwhelmingly pervasive in the lives of ordinary citizens. Many houses, shops, and restaurants publicly display Buddhist alters. Family and friends casually express their discontent with government policy to close confidants. Cafes are bustling with easy, jest-filled conversation concerning the latest current events. In Saigon, a care-free, cosmopolitan aura prevails during this exciting time of unprecedented economic growth. Once fearful of living in a police state, I, a Vietnamese-American, often forget that I study in a communist country.
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