Notable Religious Events in May 2026:
- Tuyên Quang Province: Authorities Continue to Monitor Unrecognized Religious Groups;
- Đồng Tháp Province: Police Arrest Two Followers of Independent Cao Đài;
- Gia Lai Province: Two Followers of Independent Protestantism Arrested;
- Gia Lai Authorities Dissolve the Ba Na Đêga Kon Kông Religious Organization;
- Lai Châu Province: Officials Prevent Residents from Practicing Falun Gong.
Tuyên Quang Province Targets Unrecognized Religious Groups in Latest Crackdown
According to a report by Tuyên Quang provincial authorities, in May, local agencies continued to block the activities of religious groups not recognized by the state. Authorities worked with 13 people who had participated in the Dương Văn Mình organization and six people who practiced Falun Gong.
Dương Văn Mình is an unregistered Hmong religious movement in northern Việt Nam, founded by a man named Dương Văn Mình in 1989, influenced by Christianity, and known for simplified funeral practices, which Vietnamese authorities classify as illegal while rights groups describe its followers as persecuted.
According to the authorities, these individuals pledged to stop participating in the above-mentioned religious organizations or activities and not to continue spreading information about them or encouraging others to join.
This is not the first time the province has announced the results of its handling of independent religious groups. In July 2025, provincial authorities said they had successfully eliminated San Sư Khẻ Tọ across the province.
San Sư Khẻ Tọ is an unregistered religious movement, also described as “Cơ đốc ba ngôi” or “Trinitarian Christianity,” that has spread among ethnic minority communities in northern Việt Nam, especially Hà Giang, and has been targeted by Vietnamese authorities for elimination.
Earlier, in June 2024, the province announced that it had eliminated 12 independent religious organizations, completing its target ahead of the “planned schedule.” However, the authorities did not publicly disclose the specific content of this “plan.”
In recent years, Tuyên Quang has been regarded as one of the localities applying harsh measures against religious groups operating outside the state-recognized system, including the Dương Văn Mình organization, Falun Gong, and Hội Thánh Đức Chúa Trời Mẹ (Church of God), an unregistered Christian movement founded in South Korea in 1964
One notable case occurred in May 2022, when the People’s Court of Hàm Yên District sentenced 15 H’Mông followers of the Dương Văn Mình organization to a combined prison term of more than 38 years and fines totaling 285 million đồng ($10,829).
According to the prosecutors, the defendants violated the law while organizing religious activities. Meanwhile, the case also drew attention from international religious freedom monitoring organizations because it involved the right of a minority community to practice its faith.
Two Independent Cao Đài Followers Arrested in Đồng Tháp Province
On May 12, Đồng Tháp provincial police charged and detained Trần Ngọc Sương and Nguyễn Ngọc Diến, dignitaries of Cao Đài Chơn Truyền 1926, on allegations of “propaganda against the state” under Article 117 of the Penal Code.
According to information from the authorities, Trần Ngọc Sương was accused of taking part in interviews and providing information and documents containing anti-state content.
The authorities said they had previously asked him several times to stop these activities, but that he continued to “violate” the law. As of now, the authorities have not released official information about the allegations against Nguyễn Ngọc Diến.
On the same day, authorities arrested two other followers connected to the case. However, both were released the following day.
Trần Ngọc Sương and Nguyễn Ngọc Diến are active members of Cao Đài Chơn Truyền 1926, an independent Cao Đài organization operating outside the system of state-recognized religious organizations.
For years, they have regularly reported on the state of religious freedom in Việt Nam to international organizations and United Nations human rights mechanisms.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), all four people arrested had links to Nguyễn Đình Thắng, the head of Boat People SOS (BPSOS), a human rights organization based in the U.S.
Earlier, in April, Thắng was sentenced in absentia by the Vietnamese authorities to 11 years in prison on “terrorism” charges related to the June 2023 attacks on government offices in Đắk Lắk.
The arrests took place as independent religious groups in Việt Nam continue to report difficulties in operating and obtaining legal registration.
International human rights organizations have also raised concerns that the Vietnamese authorities frequently investigate or prosecute dignitaries and followers of unrecognized religious communities under national security-related provisions.
Unlike the state-recognized Cao Đài 1997, Cao Đài Chơn Truyền 1926 maintains independent operations and is therefore not registered and not subject to management by the Vietnamese authorities. As a result, many of its followers have frequently faced harassment and obstruction of their religious activities.
Gia Lai Province Targets Independent Protestant Followers in Latest Arrests
On May 29, Gia Lai provincial authorities arrested two followers of independent Protestantism, Siu Yúi and Siu Dok, on allegations of “undermining the unity policy” under Article 116 of the Penal Code.
According to information from the authorities, the two were accused of participating in the dissemination and development of the Blung Hlâu religious organization. Blung Hlâu is a little-documented, contested religious movement among some Montagnard/Gia Rai communities in Việt Nam’s Central Highlands
The authorities claimed that the organization is linked to Đề Ga Protestantism and uses religion as a cover to mobilize people to take part in activities deemed to promote “separatism,” “autonomy,” and the establishment of a separate “Đề Ga State.”
Đề Ga Protestantism — also rendered Dega Protestantism or Tin Lành Đề-ga — is an activist Montagnard Protestant movement that emerged in Việt Nam’s Central Highlands around 1999–2000, combining evangelical Christian practice with demands for ethnic minority rights, protection of ancestral lands and, for some followers, autonomy or self-rule.
Human Rights Watch describes Đề Ga Protestantism as a church movement tied to Montagnard political grievances, while Vietnamese state sources describe it as a separatist, FULRO-linked organization operating under the cover of religion.
FULRO – The Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races ceased to exist more than three decades ago, having been active in Vietnam from 1964 to 1992.
The arrests took place as the authorities have intensified propaganda about alleged “plots” to “exploit” ethnic and religious issues to destabilize the Central Highlands.
Recently, state media have repeatedly warned about organizations and individuals accused of influencing ethnic minority communities under the guise of religious activities.
The Central Highlands has long been an area where tensions over independent religious groups frequently arise.
While the authorities maintain that control measures are necessary to ensure security and prevent separatist activities, many international human rights organizations argue that unrecognized religious communities regularly face surveillance and national security-related allegations.
In February, the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs established a standing office in Đắk Lắk to strengthen the implementation of ethnic and religious policies in the Central Highlands.
According to Luật Khoa Magazine, Article 116 of the Penal Code is often used to charge followers and dignitaries of independent religious groups in the region.
The authorities have not yet released the full case file or specific evidence against the two arrested men.
Gia Lai Province Says It Eliminated Independent Protestant Group
In May, Gia Lai provincial authorities said they had successfully eliminated Ba Na Đêga Kon Kông, an independent Protestant organization not recognized by the government.
According to information from the authorities, Bà Na Đềga Kon Kông emerged in 2025 in several areas of Gia Lai with large Bà Na communities.
Bà Na—also spelled Ba Na or Bahnar—are an Indigenous ethnic group in Việt Nam, living mainly in the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum, with communities also in Bình Định and Phú Yên; they speak a Bahnaric language in the Austroasiatic family and are known for village communal houses, gong culture, and diverse traditional and Christian religious practices.
Officials described Bà Na Đềga Kon Kông as a “variant” or “continuation” of Đêga Protestantism and said it had links to several FULRO individuals living overseas. The Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races ceased to exist more than three decades ago, having been active in Vietnam from 1964 to 1992.
According to the authorities, Bà Na Đềga Kon Kông currently has about 350 participants in 22 villages across seven communes in Gia Lai Province.
The authorities accused the group of building a tight operating network under the form of religious activities, through which it spread content deemed to promote “separatist” ideology, “incite ethnic divisions,” and “oppose” the government.
According to our observations, since the June 2023 attacks in Đắk Lắk, the authorities have tightened their management of independent religious groups in the Central Highlands.
The government has often accused some independent Protestant groups of having links to separatist organizations or of exploiting religion to oppose the state.
Meanwhile, human rights organizations say many followers of unrecognized groups have faced pressure from authorities to end their religious activities or leave their faith communities.
Lai Châu Authorities Block Woman From Joining Falun Gong
On May 12, the Lai Châu provincial police website published an article saying that authorities in Than Uyên Commune had persuaded a 57-year-old woman to abandon joining Falun Gong.
According to the article, the woman had suffered from a long-term illness and, while seeking treatment, was told that practicing Falun Gong could cure diseases without medication.
The authorities said that after working with the police, the woman signed a pledge not to take part in activities related to Falun Gong and not to keep and store any materials from the group.
In the article, the authorities continued to assert that Falun Gong is an “anti-scientific” organization, not a religion, and therefore is not recognized by the state nor permitted to operate.
The case reflects a broader trend in which the authorities in many localities continue to monitor and prevent activities related to Falun Gong.
Although it is not recognized as a religious organization, Falun Gong continues to have practitioners in Việt Nam and remains a frequent target of government propaganda and public warning campaigns.
Thiện Trường wrote this Religion Bulletin in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on June 15, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine owns the copyright for this English translation.
