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Thiện Trường wrote this Religion Bulletin in Vietnamese and published it on July 21, 2025, in Luật Khoa Magazine.

Key Religious Events in June 2025: Authorities in former Ninh Thuận Province blocked members of the Church of God the Mother from holding religious gatherings; Government forces demolished a facility belonging to the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul; Authorities in former Sóc Trăng Province returned a school property to the Sisters of Providence of Portieux; Human Rights Watch urged the EU to raise religious freedom issues during trade negotiations; The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha officially streamlined its organizational structure. Authorities in Former Ninh Thuận Province Block Religious Activities of Church of God the Mother On June 11, 2025, authorities in former Ninh Thuận Province prevented a follower of the Church of God the Mother from preaching and conducting religious activities in Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm City.

Officials compelled the individual to sign a commitment pledging not to evangelize or engage in any form of religious activity.

In addition, the government accused the Church of God the Mother of distorting religious doctrine and violating traditional customs, social ethics, and morality—calling the group superstitious and fraudulent.

Recently, the government has repeatedly cracked down on followers of the Church of God the Mother, disrupting its activities and arresting individuals for their religious practices. In September 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs instructed provincial and municipal People’s Committees nationwide to take firm action against the group’s activities. The ministry directed local authorities to swiftly detect, dissolve, and revoke permits to prevent the formation of new gathering sites for this religious community.

Authorities Demolish Facility Belonging to the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul In early June, authorities in Hồ Chí Minh City demolished a facility located on the grounds of Bế Văn Đàn Primary School, a property that was considered to be under the ownership of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul prior to 1975.

The Catholic facility, situated on Phan Đăng Lưu Street in the former Bình Thạnh District, was used by the sisters before 1975 to provide education for generations of local children and to carry out numerous charitable activities.

After 1975, the government requisitioned the property, which has remained under state control ever since.

It is known that the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul have repeatedly submitted petitions requesting the return of the Bế Văn Đàn Primary School, but these appeals have been consistently rejected by the authorities.

The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul is a Catholic religious order founded on November 29, 1633, in France, by Saint Vincent de Paul. Its mission is to serve the poor through acts of charity.

Since the issuance of Resolution 297-CP on Nov. 11, 1977, many religious institutions in Vietnam—especially those involved in education, healthcare, and cultural work—have been placed under state management. In many cases, religious properties have been repurposed as government offices or subjected to land-use reclassification for unrelated purposes.

The Bế Văn Đàn Primary School campus. Photo credit: Hà Trung Kiên / Facebook . Authorities in Former Sóc Trăng Province Return School Facility to the Sisters of Providence of Portieux On June 18, 2025, authorities in former Sóc Trăng Province officially returned the Phường 8 Primary School facility to the Sisters of Providence of Portieux after 50 years of state requisition.

This decision came after two decades of persistent petitions by the Sisters of Providence of Portieux requesting the return of the school.

Prior to 1975, the facility was managed by the Catholic order and served as a home and school for orphaned girls, disadvantaged children, and a number of external female students.

On June 25, 1976, the government of Hậu Giang Province (from which Sóc Trăng was later separated in 1991) requested temporary use of the orphanage for healthcare and educational purposes.

However, after borrowing the buildings and facilities, the government continued to occupy the land within the compound and used it for unrelated purposes without informing the religious order.

Since the requisition, the order has been forced to operate in a different location, which has since fallen into serious disrepair. Despite numerous complaints filed over the years, the authorities repeatedly rejected the requests, citing a lack of legal grounds.

Only recently—after the Phường 8 Primary School facility became severely dilapidated and beyond repair—did the government agree to return it to the Sisters of Providence of Portieux.

This is one of the few cases in which the state has returned a religious property after 1975. In former Sóc Trăng Province, many other Catholic-owned properties remain under state control or are being misused. These include the iSchool Sóc Trăng Complex (formerly De La Salle Khánh Hưng Secondary School, run by the De La Salle Brothers), and the nationally recognized historical–cultural site of Taberd Sóc Trăng School (also part of the De La Salle educational system).

The deteriorated school facility was returned to the Sisters of Providence of Portieux. Photo credit: Phạm Gia Hào Bội Hào / Facebook . Human Rights Watch Urges EU to Raise Religious Freedom in Trade Negotiations On June 20, 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) submitted a briefing to the European Union ahead of the EU–Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, calling on the EU to link trade agreements—such as the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)—to Vietnam’s commitment to uphold human rights, including freedom of belief and religion.

In its submission, HRW emphasized that while EVFTA contains human rights provisions, the Vietnamese government has recently intensified its repression, including harassment, prosecution, and imprisonment of followers of religious groups not recognized by the government.

HRW urged the EU to tie EVFTA implementation to concrete measures, such as monitoring the arrest and release of individuals imprisoned for religious reasons or pushing for legal reforms to eliminate laws that violate religious freedom.

The briefing also called on the EU to publicly and privately urge the Vietnamese government to allow external observers—including United Nations bodies, NGOs, and foreign diplomats—unrestricted and unaccompanied access to the Central Highlands, especially to communes and villages inhabited by Montagnard communities and other ethnic minorities. It stressed the importance of ensuring that no individual who speaks with or assists these observers faces retaliation or punishment.

Most recently, in January 2025, HRW reported that under the leadership of General Secretary Tô Lâm, the Vietnamese government has continued to restrict freedoms of association, religion, and movement.

Screenshot of HRW’s submission to the EU. Source: HRW website Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Officially Streamlines Its Organizational Structure On June 12, 2025, Giác Ngộ newspaper reported that the state-run Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) issued Circular No. 258/TT-HĐTS outlining the roadmap, objectives, and personnel restructuring process following its organizational streamlining.

According to the circular, the state-run VBS will dissolve all district-level executive councils starting July 1, 2025, reducing its structure to just three levels: central, provincial/municipal, and grassroots—mirroring the administrative hierarchy of the state.

Specifically, there will be 34 executive councils corresponding to the 34 provinces and centrally governed cities nationwide. Among them, 11 existing councils (such as in Hanoi, Hue, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Son La) will remain unchanged, while 23 new ones will be formed under the latest administrative mergers. These newly established councils will begin operation on July 15, 2025.

As observed by Luật Khoa Magazine, the restructuring of the VBS closely mirrors the state’s approach to administrative streamlining—further underscoring that this is not an independent religious organization, but one that in practice operates under close supervision and direction of the government.

Religion Bulletin – June 2025 -State Playbook for the Buddhist Sangha: Vietnam’s Buddhist Church Follows Government’s Lead in Restructuring

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Religion Bulletin – June 2025 -State Playbook for the Buddhist Sangha: Vietnam’s Buddhist Church Follows Government’s Lead in Restructuring

Key Religious Events in June 2025:

Authorities in Former Ninh Thuận Province Block Religious Activities of Church of God the Mother

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