Report on Freedom of Religion in Vietnam – August 2019

Focus:

• The Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist sect objected to the plan to change the original tiles of its An Hoa Tu Pavilion of Ancestral Worship.
• The first observance of the International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief has demonstrated that many independent religious sects in Vietnam practice their religions inside their homes.
• Vietnam began a Human Rights Dialogue with Australia on August 29, 2019, in Canberra.
• Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with leaders of government-approved religious institutions to guide, propagandize, and manage religious practice to be in accordance with the state authorities.

Changes in the law regarding religious practices

The government did not propose any new legal changes to religious practice in Vietnam this month.

Events that stood out during the month of August

Events by religious institutions

1. At the beginning of August 2019, the Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist sect – a religious organization that is not recognized by the Vietnamese government – objected to a plan to replace the original tiles  of the An Hoa Tu Pavilion of Ancestral Worship. The tile replacement plan  was proposed and was to be carried out by the government-approved Central  Executive Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Organization.

An Hoa Tu is a pavilion of ancestral worship, a common house for all Hoa Hao Buddhists, and where they organize all of their devotions. An Hoa Tu was built in the early years of the 20th century and founder Huynh Phu So selected it to be the center of the Hoa Hao sect. Therefore, it is a temple consisting of many spiritual beliefs. Its pillars, its tiles, or even just a tree, can carry a special meaning for the Hoa Hao Buddhists. The religious teaching of the Hoa Hao also encourages prudence in building temples and worshipping practices. It is why the replacement plan of the tiles has caused the Hoa Hao Buddhists to worry that this may go against the religious sect’s tenets and the teaching of their founder.

The Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist sect is an independent religious organization. Its members often are harassed by the local authorities because their religion is practiced independent of the state. These members are not allowed to organize their worshipping ceremonies publicly according to the traditions of their religion because the state only allows the Central Executive Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Organization to have the right to organize such activities. The conflict between the two institutions has lingered for many years.

2. On August 22, 2019, many religious groups solely organized their observance ceremonies for the International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. We have not received any reports that the state interfered with these ceremonies. The Cao Dai, Buddhists, Hoa Hao Buddhists, Catholics, and Protestants all proceeded with their ceremonies on private lands and not at their public places of worship. This event strongly demonstrated that many religious groups could not register their activities officially and so could only practice their religions on private premises. For example, regarding the Hoa Hao Buddhists, the state only recognizes the Central Executive Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Organization. If the Hoa Hao Buddhists organize any ceremonies with people gathering, they would be deemed to have violated the law.

There are also no reports of government-recognized and registered religious organizations that have organized to observe this day.

State events

1. On August 9, 2019, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and senior officials met with 126 religious leaders from all the government-approved religious institutions in Danang City. This meeting was held to promote the state’s management and propaganda among the leaders of these religious organizations.

According to the People’s Daily newspaper, Nguyen Xuan Phuc acknowledged that Vietnam leads the world in religious equality because it is a country that does not have ethnic or religious intolerance.

According to the government’s electronic gateway, the prime minister has alleged that there have been situations where people have abused religious freedom for the purpose of engaging in national separationism, and to complicate security, social order, and to affect Vietnam’s reputation. Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared two extreme points to guide religious practice in the country:

• All religions must join with the government, follow the laws, and resolve all conflicts with openness and goodwill along with the authorities.
• All religious leaders and their members must  be loyal to the great ethnic unity of the state, and refuse to be used by civil society groups that have activities related to “democracy, human rights, and religious freedom.”

2. On August 29, 2019, Australia proceeded with the Human Rights Dialog with Vietnam in its capital in Canberra. It was the 16th dialogue between the two countries. In the previous dialogue, Australia expressed its concerns to Vietnamese authorities about the limitations on civic space for civil society organizations, limits on civil and political rights, and the increase in      harassment, arrests, and the detention of human rights activists.