Generalities
As far as the propagation of the Church under "Renovation" is concerned, the
cult is celebrated in thousands of “domestic churches” and is regularly
interrupted by the visit of the police. The leaders and the owners of houses of worship are given heavy fines that
oftentimes exceed one hundred dollars. The freedom of assembly is not assured
in Vietnam
while the Vietnamese laws permit the reunion of more than 20 people in the
interior of the house. In the roundups at domestic church houses, executed at
regular intervals, the police seizes the Christian literature comprising the Bible
and printed religious materials. Religious instruction in certain regions takes
place “in hiding” --clandestinely. An unprecedented incident happened in Quang
Ngai: Children were put in prison and tortured for a week fot having refused to
disclose identity of their Bible instructor.
The cult spread in spite of harsh repression. The
authorities paid particular attention to independent Evangelical Christian
Churches. The Office of Religious
Affairs of the Party, the Ministry of Public Security and the Bureau of
Religious Affairs were vested with the mission to concretize the normalization
of Evangelical Christianity. The new decree on religions No. 26/1999/ND-CP came
into force. The law was signed by the Prime Minister, implementing the
dispositions of the previous decrees. Nevertheless, nothing new is found in the
content of this decree; it is only a step backward, restating the function of
religions under State control. The leadership resides with the State and those cadres
who are responsible for the operation of Party religious organisms in the
Fatherland Front. The organization of vaious congregations, the choice of
leaders, the decisions in matters of
formation of clergy, candidacy to the pristhood, ordination, construction and physical
restoration of churches, publication of religious literature, and the relationship
between the believers in the country and those in other parts of the world are
all prescribed by the law, All religious
services and activities are controlled
by the State. The law still gives the government another winning card. Article
3 of the said decree stipulates that "religious activities must be
conducted in conformity with the law." A circular of the government
destined to explain the decree No. 26 published in June 1999 in Hanoi still stipulates
that people who rejoin a religious congregation must apply for prior permission
of the local authorities.
In response to an international report that
criticized Vietnam’s
records of religious freedom, the daily of the Army Quan Doi Nhan Dan of September 12, 1999, published
this declaration: "Everyone of good faith and respectful of the truth can
prove that the State of Vietnam has always sought and created favorable
conditions for the exercise of religious freedom by all citizens. The Vietnamese State has never made obstacle to
religious activities." The fact is that the inhabitants of big cities of Vietnam can see
the Catholic and Christian
Churches crowded with their
believers on Sunday. Nevertheless, religious services and assemblies for
prayers at distant chapels and isolated houses of worship were frequented by
police. Believers of all faiths still suffer oppression, suppression, and
repression. Independent
Evangelical Christian
Churches, in particular,
endure persecution with fines, beatings, and torture throughout the country.
In reality, witnessing the disintegration of the
Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe, the authorities got caught in anxiety about
the role played by leaders of the Church as it might institute fear, causing
serious problems to the regime: In such a situation, the State might think of
an external enemy on whom it could blame for their failures in the areas of
economy and politics. Evangelical Christianity is conveniently associated with
the United States,
and is thereby one of the enemies of the regime. Cautious, the authorities
launched campaigns of propaganda, assigning Evangelical Christianity as the
associate of America
and instigator of a prolonged war. The new strategy “is to use the Christians
to develop "peaceful evolution." Additionally, the regime truly
feared the power of cohesion of this religious organization. Specially, it was
apt to help the H'mong to realize religious independence or to mobilize the
fellow believers to act as the Buddhists had the past to modify the political
model. The imposition of a law on the religion is necessarily a preventive
measure.
Still, the growth of Evangelical movement during
"Renovatio," really posed serious threat to communism. The Communists
certainly become angry to see the capacity of the Churches to help create and
expand Evangelical congregations with physical means and spiritual assistance.
These and other resources all helped promote the Evangelical cause and
implement the Evangelical Christianity systems fruitfully. Of paarticular
significance, the integrity of mind the Church creates in the follower and the
care it lavishly gives to the needed are the greatest tasks that the regime has
never fulfilled. This is also the reason for which the Communist Party sought
to place the Church under its control, not only due to sheer superiority
complex but also for power monopoly. It failed, however, to camouflage evil
intention. In tems of the law, the Communist regime has repeatedly violated the
constitution compiled by itself and international laws by which it has pledged.to
abide In the domain of religion and
other domains of the civil life. The Party’s monopoly of power is self-evident s.
The "market economy with socialist orientation" proves to be "a
bridge to nowhere." Some modest economic improvements accorded to the inhabitants
in the cities largely create social inequalities and ills. The abyss between
the "red capitalists" and the masses widens immensurably. The motto
"ndependence, freedom, and happiness" for everyone is mere rhetoric.
It proves to be only a myth and is ridiculed by the daily life experiences of
the Vietnamese. The reshaping of the moral and spiritual life of Evangelical Christianity
therefore becames an urgent task of the society and, coincidentally constitutes
a threat to the Communist regime.
