Viet Nam promotes religious solidarity in new era

Since the birth of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (1930) and especially after the victory of the August Revolution in 1945, under the leadership of the Party headed by President Ho Chi Minh, religion has always been clearly identified as an indispensable component of national solidarity.

The 20th United Nations Day of Vesak in 2025 was held in Ho Chi Minh City. This is an international cultural and religious festival, a confluence of beliefs about peace.

In historical periods as well as at present, religions in Viet Nam have made positive and effective contributions across many areas to the revolutionary cause of the nation.

Since the 1940s, when the Viet Minh Front was established, dignitaries and followers of many different religions in Viet Nam have actively responded, participated in the Front or helped revolutionary activities. After the success of the August Revolution, the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam was born. Our Party and State have consistently maintained the viewpoint of respecting freedom of belief and religious solidarity.

In the first meeting of the Provisional Government on September 3, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed that one of the six urgent tasks of the Government was: “Freedom of belief and solidarity of religions”. Continuing to institutionalise this viewpoint, in Decree No.234/SL dated June 14, 1955, on ensuring freedom of belief, signed by President Ho Chi Minh, it emphasised: “The Government guarantees the people’s freedom of belief and freedom of worship. No one is allowed to violate that freedom. Every Vietnamese person has the right to freely follow a religion or not to follow a religion”.

Under the leadership of the Party and with correct viewpoints and policies, many religious dignitaries and followers promoted the spirit of solidarity in a united national front, actively participating in the cause of resistance and nation building.

Entering the period of renovation, the Party and State continue to affirm: One of the main driving forces for the development of a strong, prosperous, and happy country is to build and promote the strength of the great national unity bloc, including the issue of religious unity. In the congress documents of the renovation period, the issue of religious unity and promoting the role of religion on the basis of respecting freedom of belief and religion has always been of concern and emphasised by the Party. In the documents of the 13th Congress, the Party affirmed that it is necessary to: “Mobilise, unite and gather religious organisations, dignitaries and followers to live a “good life and good religion”, actively contributing to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland”. To concretise the Party’s viewpoint, Article no. 24 of the 2013 Constitution clearly states:

“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of belief and religion, to follow or not to follow any religion. All religions are equal before the law.

2. The State respects and protects the right to freedom of belief and religion.

3. No one is allowed to violate the freedom of belief and religion or take advantage of belief and religion to violate the law”.

Thanks to the correct guidelines and policies of the Party and State with the consistent goal of uniting religious compatriots into the great national unity bloc, for the common revolutionary cause of the nation, religions in Viet Nam have the conditions to develop strongly. The outstanding contributions of religions in the spirit of solidarity and harmony create great strength to build and develop the country, clearly demonstrated in the fields of education, health care, and social charity.

However, as the country enters a new era of development, it raises a number of issues: The context of globalisation, international integration, and digital transformation has made religion no longer simply a social phenomenon of an internal national nature but has become a transnational element associated with political-social, defense-security factors, thereby creating conditions for external forces to intervene in the internal affairs of the country under the guise of “protecting religious freedom”, “church autonomy”, “protecting ethnic minority rights”.

Along with that, some limitations in the innovation and improvement of policies and laws on beliefs and religions, some shortcomings in religious management; the rapid development of new forms of religion, non-traditional religious trends, the propaganda and dissemination of religion through social networks; the implementation of policies is sometimes inconsistent, ... creating conditions for bad guys to take advantage, exploit, and incite sabotage.

The tricks frequently used by hostile forces include: exerting international pressure, accusing Viet Nam of “restricting freedom of belief” and “religious repression”, causing international organisations to misunderstand the issue of freedom of belief and religion in Viet Nam, at the same time causing conflicts and divisions among religious people, especially ethnic minorities, and the government, inciting people to oppose the government. Inciting and causing divisions between religions on the basis of exploiting differences in rituals, organisations, theological views, etc., thereby causing conflicts, disagreements, and even confrontations between religions. Taking advantage of social networks and cyberspace to exaggerate certain incidents such as land disputes related to religious establishments or handling of violations by some religious dignitaries and followers... to incite religious followers to protest, defame or sabotage the government... Linking religious issues with ethnicity, trying to propagate selfish and narrow-minded nationalism, inciting religious followers, especially ethnic minorities, to participate in secessionist activities, establishing autonomous “kingdoms” (such as the “Mong Kingdom” in the northern mountainous region; “Autonomous Dega State” in the Central Highlands; “Autonomous Champa Kingdom” in the central region; “Autonomous Khmer Krom Nation” in the Southwest region...).

If the sabotage of hostile and reactionary forces under the above guises is not promptly detected, prevented and repelled, it will leave behind extremely serious consequences such as: eroding the trust of the people, especially religious compatriots, in the correct religious policies of the Party and State, thereby creating a mentality of dissatisfaction and acts of sabotage against the government and the regime, causing political and security instability, creating excuses and opportunities for external forces to interfere in the internal affairs of the country, pushing back the international integration efforts of the Party and State.

More importantly, the above sabotage will inevitably cause division in the great national unity bloc, division between religious and non-religious compatriots, division among compatriots of different religions... thereby seriously damaging political stability, socio-economic development, maintaining national independence and sovereignty, and at the same time breaking the great national unity bloc.

In fact, if religious solidarity cannot be achieved in a multi-religious and multi-belief country with many religious followers like Viet Nam, it is impossible to build and promote the strength of the great national unity bloc as well as to maximize the role of religions. The diversity of beliefs and religions, if not linked by understanding, respect and accompanying development with correct viewpoints and policies, will potentially pose risks of division, conflict, and be exploited to stir political and social instability.

Conversely, if religious solidarity is ensured, religious solidarity itself will contribute to strengthening social consensus, minimising conflicts, creating a stable political-social environment for economic development, neutralising distorted and divisive arguments, exploiting ethnic-religious issues to sabotage the government, sabotage the regime, and religious organisations, dignitaries and followers will become active forces in building and developing the country, firmly protecting the socialist Fatherland.

From this, it can be seen that building, consolidating and promoting the role of religious solidarity in the current period is an objective necessity and at the same time one of the prerequisites for rapid, inclusive, stable and sustainable national development.

To achieve that goal, it is necessary to seriously implement a number of specific requirements as follows: First, efforts should continue to promote the improvement of policies and laws on beliefs and religions with a consistent policy of respecting and implementing freedom of belief and religion on the basis of the law. Strengthen training and fostering of cadres working on religion and ethnicity in general, and the work of building religious solidarity in particular, to meet new requirements while gradually overcoming the limitations and shortcomings of the existing state management of religion.

Strengthen dialogue and improve the effectiveness of the coordination and combination mechanism between the government and religious organisations. Timely grasp and thoroughly resolve the legitimate and legal aspirations and wishes of religions as well as promote education and propaganda to help religious followers, dignitaries and people following religions fully understand the correct religious policies of the Party and State, thereby creating solid trust between religious organisations and the government, the Party and the State; at the same time, improve the effectiveness of the coordination and combination mechanism between the government and religious organisations to ensure that religions always closely cooperate and accompany the government, contributing to the development of the country.

Proactively prevent and detect threats early, promptly detect and resolutely fight against all plots, tricks and acts of taking advantage of religion to divide and sabotage the great national unity bloc and illegal religious activities, not to be passive in any situation. It is especially necessary to step up the fight and effectively refute false and distorted arguments that exploit ethnic and religious issues to incite people to oppose the Party, the State and the regime, especially in cyberspace.

NDO