RELIGIOUS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS

Religious Freedom Violations

By Van Nguyen




The communist rule in Vietnam negates to all intents and purposes the principles of natural rights of the human person. In its Marxist viewpoint , there are absolutely no “rights” that are above and outside “the laws.” Natural rights or subjective rights are only the products the capitalists invent to govern the masses. There are then no “natural rights,” the selfish individual rights of the capitalist. The best way is to build a classless society in which there will be no need for such rights. Nevertheless, in the by-pausing period to a classless society, the proletarian State still governs the society according to the laws enacted by the proletariat.  Therefore, only the rights that are regulated by these laws can be a matter of concern. Only  these objective rights, are legitimate, veritable, and correct.   

Human rights are universal and indivisible, nonetheless. They are founded on the eternal human values and the inviolable dignity of the human being. They cannot be subject to politically and ideologically assumed convictions. Men of good will should not put aside perennial values and give priority to certain theoretical presumptions. Erroneous interpretations from them will certainly lead to oppressive coercion and stifle unalienable rights to freedoms of Nan. The Communist Party of Vietnam, as a case in point, reserves for itself monopoly of power to subordinate the Vietnamese people to totalitarianism to follow the path of the so-called socialism, regardless of popular mandate. It favors the promotion of economic development at the expense of the unalienable rights of Man. Cultural values and religious principles are epi-phenomenal, and the principles of universality and indivisibility of the rights to religious freedom are excluded. The voice of the people is silenced and political obstinacy, illegal impudence, and brutal intolerance rule over equality, justice, and peace.  

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that “inherent dignity and the equal and unalienable rights of all members of the human family are the foundation of freedom.” The recognition of this truth “is the foundation of freedom of justice, and of the peace in the world (Preamble).” The first article of the thirty articles of the declaration stipulates: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience to act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” The truth and human dignity and freedom are basic to moral teachings that are common to all old great religions of the world. From this common moral base, the declaration presents two large groups of rights: 1) the civil and political rights and 2) the economic, social, and cultural rights. Two separate groups of documents in 1966 speak of these rights. They aim to expand the rights to all peoples, “free of fear and misery.”  
     

The General Assembly of the United Nations in 1945 adopted the Human Rights Provisions which declare without ambiguity “to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion (Article 1, No. 2).” The Universal Declaration of 1948 ends with this warning: “Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any state, group, or person any right to engage any action or to perform any act aimed at the destruction any of these rights and freedoms set forth hereof (Article 30).”

            

The Rights to Religious Freedom

 The rights to the freedom of religion are universal. They are true in all societies, to all peoples on earth, and for all cultures of mankind. Only a totalitarian regime can pretend that religious rights issues are internal affairs of a country, that only the administration of that country can stipulate the norms of religious rights for its citizens, and that no other countries that respect rights can infringe on internal affairs. The Universal Declaration was proclaimed in 1948. The International Bill of Human Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights all proclaim the rights to religious freedom. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has become a signatory to these readies, but has nevertheless violated many provisions of the treaties by which it pledges to abide.. Its repressive policies and measures against the rights religious freedom is a retrogression of humankind progress. That is not only a perfidious attitude toward the international community; it is also an act of audacity against it.

The Violations of Religious Freedom

Vietnam is the signatory to the International Bill of Human Rights of the United Nations and the International Covenants of the United Nations on Political and Civil Rights. There must be demand of it the cognizance for its surging back to serious and systematic violations, to accord religious freedom to its citizens. It is the duty of the United Nation to protect and render services for Man. It is the duty of the governments that have maintained relations with Vietnam, especially those that highly honor the values of the rights of  Man.  It is the duty of those who do business with this country. It is also the duty of independent organizations tto push foward the movement for the rights to religious freedom. Speak out, and speak clearly!  (Singapore, February 15, 2000 Commission on Religious Freedom of World Evangelical Union)

   

Vietnam is a country that harbors enormous considerations as regards religious freedom. The visitors to the cities can attest the manifestations of a gloomy  religious life. Religious institutions are subject to State control. Churches, chapels, and pagodas of various independent sects and religious denominations are well under constant threat and anguish. Effecting radical change in accordance with historical materialism, the communist leaders have decided since the half of the 1990's  to promote with afterthoughts the "traditional culture and religions," the cult of the ancestors and other animist practices, especially traditional religious practices among the ethnic minorities in the highlands. This camouflage fails blind the eyes of the international community. Likewise, the communist rule admits that religion is "a need for certain people" and announces with copious supply of publicity of complete religious liberty. Nevertheless, the free exercise of religion is strictly limited. A religious activity that the State cannot co-opt, control, or politicize is quickly fixed with "illegal," and they are subjected to a harsh "legal" repression by way of extra-judiciary measures that are still more severe. And nothing will be improved! (Commission of Religious Freedom, February 2000)

 For decades, the Communist Party of Vietnam and State have always shown disrespect for religious freedom. They have adopted a hostile attitude to even positive elements of diverse religions. They relentlessly repress all efforts of religious propagation and practices. They terrorize, arrest detain, and execute priests, monks, men of conscience, and patriotic followers of diverse religions. They limit, restrict, and control the formation, ordination, nomination, and displacement of the clergy of diverse religions, using both administrative measures and violence to condition them into organisms or satellites operating within the State’s orbit. The political goals were established in 1945 by Ho Chi Minh and have been followed over six decades by the communist rule. Successive communist administrations have never ceased to watch with suspicion over the Churches, their dignitaries, and faithful because of their possible “counterrevolutionary activities.” This repressive policy and measures are executed in the police operations and propaganda campaigns against the religions. They are also manifest in the legalized documents concerning religion, particularly in the Resolution No. 24 of the Politburo, the Decree No. 69/HDBT of March 21, 1991, and the Ordinance on Beliefs and Religion of the National Assembly of January 15, 2004.     

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has abused the powers of the executive and legislative to render legal matters that are within the competence of the legislature provided for in the constitution. The laws on religions, in particular, are seriously unconstitutional with respect to national laws and illegal as far as international laws are concerned. They violate the freedom of religion in, at least, three major categories: 1) it tacitly negates the existence of the Churches as legal entity as it does not accommodate any disposition to defining the procedure for the formation of a Church. It does not recognize the legal status of certain legitimate Churches; 2) It places religious activities under the category requiring prior authorization and constraints that are more political than legal; and 3) It violates the principle of separation of the State and the Church with  a) systematic infringement the internal affairs of the Churches by dictating prior registration of all activities of the Churches to be performed at designated worship places, b) the formation and training of monks and priests, including the control of personnel  and the revision of curricular programs, c) the ordination and promotion of monks and priests, d) the assignment and transfer of monks and priests, and e) the conduct of affairs of monasteries and convents and any form of collective religious practices and charitable activities. 

    Violations of Domestic Laws

As a result of the systematic eradication of religious organizations, the   dispossession of all Churches’ properties, and the persecution of the clergy and laity of all faiths and the persistent persecution of clergy and laity of all faiths the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is in serious violation of religious freedom. It is in serious violation of all constitutional and regulatory laws promulgated by its successive administrations. It is in serious violation of the decree of protection of freedom of conscience stipulated by the People’s Congress on August 17, 1945.

 By the destruction of religious institutions before and after the Geneva Agreements (1954), the Vietnamese Communist rule is in serious violation of the decree on the protection of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam promulgated on September 20, 1945; 2) By inhibiting the citizen’s rights to freedom of speech and freedom of creed, the Vietnamese Communist rule is in serious violation of Article 10 of the 1946 Constitution; 3) With the oppression and  repression against all forms of aspirations for religious freedom, democracy, and human rights, the Vietnamese Communist rule is in serious violation of the following  articles of the 1980 Constitution. Article 67, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, Article 70, protection by the law with regard to life, honor, and property, and Article 73, the right to lodge a complaint or denunciation regarding transgression of the laws; 3) The Vietnamese Communist rule, with its inappropriate policies and repressive measures against the religions, is in serious violation of numerous provisions of the 1992 Constitution: a) It breaches Article 5, stating the inhibition of the discrimination among the nationalities, the development of customs, practices, traditions, and culture; b) Article 30, the right to the human person in the political, civil, economic, cultural, and social fields; c) Article 58, the right to ownership and inheritance; d) Article 68, freedom of movement; e) Article 69, the right to enjoy the freedom of speech and the press, and to inform and hold meetings; f) Article 70, the right to religious freedom, and g) Article 73, the right to free residence.

     Violations of International Laws

 A state member of the United Nations, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam nevertheless is in serious violation of the rights to religious freedom provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights according to which “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and of religion.” The right includes the freedom to change one’s religion or belief, either alone or in conformity with others, in public or private, to manifest one’s religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. Therefore, the restrictions as well as the failure to determine the essentials of freedom are undeniably violations on Article 18. It is also in serious violation of at least seven other articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They include the infringement on human rights concerning the rights to reason, conscience, and brotherhood (Article 1), the right to life, liberty, and security of the person (Article 3), the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers (Article), and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association according to which no one may be compelled to appertain to an association (Article 20).

It is in violation of other international human rights agreements, such as the U.N. Declaration against Religious intolerance, the 1981 U. N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief. Religious persecution and discrimination on political grounds constitute infringement on human rights and create injustice among human beings. It constitutes an affront to human dignity as well as a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations whereby the principles for religious freedom are observed. The respect for embodies, among other rights,  the rights to assemble in association with religion and belief, establish and maintain the places of worship and humanitarian institutions, communications with individuals and communities in matters of religion and belief. 

A signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is in serious violation numerous articles of this covenant. They include the rights to fundamental rights (Article 5), the right to liberty and security of person (Article 9), the right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person (Article 10), the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose residence (Article 18), the right to freedom of expression, and the right to freedom of association. A signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is in serious violation of the right to self-determination of the people (Article 1) and the promotion of the general welfare in a democratic country (Article 4).

In the light of the principles of religious freedom and freedom of conscience, the politics of control on the population of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are considered totally unacceptable. It is clear that, in the global comprehension of human rights, the responsibility of the protection of these rights belongs not only to the State but also to each person or group. As always, The Hanoi regime has ever favored the idea that only the State could enact these rights. That idea is not right and has been put into question. It is clear that individuals and groups other than the State can enact these rights and are responsible for them.  It is also the task of the international community to watch over and correct serious violations of fundamental human rights.  

    

The injustices committed against the dignity of man and his rights by the Communist Party and State of Vietnam should be denounced as they have made the Universal Declaration of Human Rights something unreliable. The situation presents an act of defiance to the international community. Religious freedom needs protection, and religions need to be free to pursue their mission to defend and promote the rights of man. Human rights are indivisible. They are founded on the transcendental and inviolable dignity of the human being and cannot be subject to the so-called democratic inquiries or polls of politically and ideologically correct convictions followed by a few changes from time to time. One cannot put aside and ignore one of these premises while giving priority to another. Human rights are universal. They are true in all societies, to all the peoples on earth, and for all cultures of mankind. Only a totalitarian regime pretends that human rights issues are internal affairs of a country, that only the administration of that it is entitled to authority to stipulate the norms of human rights for its citizens, and that no other country that respects human rights could infringe on its internal affairs.The Vietnamese Communist Party is truly at the helm, but its leadership still looks to a double religious policy to control the religions. Periodic appeals for vigilance against “the enemies of the people” continue to be issued. Among the suspected enemies are members of all independent religious sects, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, the Vietnam Unified Buddhist Church, non-sanctioned Evangelical Christianity denominations, and various Catholic groups. Obviously, the Communist State is in possession of monopoly of power with stricter means of control, and harsher repressive measures than those of the ancient Confucian feudalism of the Nguyen Dynasty, the French imperialism, and the Japanese fascism. It is safe to say that the Communist regime is successful where the other regimes are not. It is also safe to believe that religious aspirations are ever powerful not to be uprooted.  The tragic outcome of the tension created by the totalitarianState is still very much with all faiths.                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  
Merciless oppression, repression, and persecution are leveling against the clergy, the faithful, and rights advocates. People of good will need solid protection for religious freedom. The realization requires religious principles and perennial moral and spiritual values are honored and preserved. Over the past years, international human rights organizations and personalities have voiced concerns over human rights situations in Vietnam. The rights struggle of the Vietnamese people has obtained compassion and support from public opinion worldwide. Our hope is that the progress of world in the economic, political, and cultural domains the propagation of thoughts of the media, the advances of high technology, and, of most importance, the will of mankind will ever be the foster forces to restore justice, freedom, and peace in this world.                  

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VIETNAMESE RELIGIONS

Characteristics of the Vietnamese Religions

By Van Nguyen




Communism was introduced into Vietnam in the third decade of the twentieth century. Under the aegis of ideological premises of this political doctrine, the Vietnamese Communists have sought, in particular, to subdue all religions under their control, regardless of historical, social, moral, spiritual, and cultural values that they have cherished and preserved to constitute religion as an institution particular to itself, in itself, and for itself, Religious intolerance thus goes against the traditional religious devotion of the Vietnamese people. The history of Vietnam shows that religious devotion has taken deep roots in the Vietnamese soil, in every family and village throughout centuries. Although a younger political doctrine, communism tends to subvert all traditional moral values and religious ways of life by the replacement of the Marxist ideological principles. The Communist Party and State of Vietnam, far and foremost, pursue a most uncivil policy, on the hand, to repress and persecute the believers of all faiths and, on the other, to stop the growth of the religions in Vietnam

Enmity and Intolerance

Peaceful coexistence with a religious organization, viewed in the concept of social security of the communist State, is entirely dependent on the organization's willingness to submit to the Party and Government’s policies and the "law.'" The “category” religion is seen as a problem. It is regarded as an instrument maliciously schemed for subversion by the enemy. Religious leaders who do not conform to Communist ideology and practices are bad elements. To make concession to the religion is considered a reluctant and temporary measure in face of an unenlightened segment population in the by-[ass period to communism. Solutions offered to the problem include improving anti-religion propaganda, general education, improving the economic life, and enforcing the law. The final element will be a catchall when nothing else works. 

The Communist Party has increasingly executed rigorous policies and commandments than the lords under feudalism did, Worse still, while Confucianism assumes the leading role in shaping the Vietnamese's ways of life, it  nevertheless allows other doctrines to co-exist, each operates its own way, Communism monopolizes the verity and subs dues all other doctrines under its control. A Confucian of the old days, after having retired from public obligations, often lived like a Buddhist and practiced his faith in a pagoda to find the peace for his mind and soul. There was a harmony for different modes for ways of life. No one was tied to a monolithic ideology, and everyone lived happily together. It is the monopoly of power that forces everyone to think alike and behaves in the same way, negating even the least differences and obliterating all possible compromises. Not only does this trend go against the progressive movements towards the democracy and civilization of mankind, but it also goes against the traditional ways of life of the Vietnamese people (Van Duck, VNHRW, 32 (1993).

The Problem

 There is no solution to the problematic issue of religious freedom. This situation raises doubt about whether or not the State considers the religion a distinctive right of Man and treats the matter with deliberate concern. As a consequence, it is always the question under consideration. It is now at a dead end and a problem. There no real place for the religion in cultural moral life of the people; neither is there a role for it in the social political developments of the actual society. The principal objective is to hold high the banner of Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought and set to carry out the religious policy.

Under strict control, the State has, nevertheless, failed to reconcile the religions to serve national union under its leadership. It has frivolously striven with all its efforts to suppress the religions to submit them to its control, carrying out harshest measure to eradicate religious institutions and deadliest persecution against the religious clergy and laymen and executing malicious hidden methods to repress religious propagation and activities. Among the repressive measures, it is noted, are the prohibition to print and publish religious literature, the confiscation of religious literature, writings, and documents, control and destruction of places of worship, the denial of legal status of dependent and traditionally-instituted churches, the restriction of seminaries, religious schools, charitable works, and the limitation of members of the clergy. Innocent and devoted members of the Churches were brought to stand trial on ungrounded charges with political crimes and crimes against the State and national security. Worse still, extrajudicial system devoid of due process and legal procedures endures the victims of persecution that sentence them by administrative decree and decision. The State’s political antagonistic stance on the religions proves that Vietnam remains the severe closed society and most despotic and undemocratic country in the world.

Benevolence, Concord and Harmony

The Vietnamese is a peace-loving, pious, and religious people. Their religious devotion manifests itself in the ways of life of the people of all societal layers. It is, in essence, preserved both in the substance and forms incorporated in the traditional moral, spiritual, and cultural values of the country and in the ways of life of the people. This spirit can only be explained by the religious traditions and the religious sentiments implanted in the soul of the Vietnamese people. This living flowing force is ever streaming throughout the millennium-old history of the country. It symbolizes and perpetuates the spirit of benevolence, concord, and harmony that foster better universality and harmonious diversity among and between the believers of diverse religions and people of all walks of life of the society. 

 

Ever since the beginning in the second century A. D., the Vietnamese people have embraced prestigious foreign religions. The Vietnamese soul, therefore, becomes a rich synthesis of heterogeneous beliefs, including Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Still, it honors a number of other faiths, Christianity, Islam, Caodaism and Hoa Hao Buddhism, the two indigenous faiths that came into existence in the first half of the twentieth century prospered without constraints alongside with other elder religious faiths. It is in this spirit of tolerance that cherishes benevolence, concord, and harmony among the religions and their faithful that the Vietnamese people have genuinely transfused the virtues of each of the religions into practice and honors them as norms and models in social interactions. (The Committee for the Struggle for Religious Freedom, 1993: 34).

This spirit of benevolence, concord, and harmony explains the complexity of the dual character universality and diversity in which diverse faiths co-exist and prosper.  Not only do they all interact to co-exist, they also foster harmony to preserve unity, honor diversity in their practices, and respect traditional indigenous beliefs and cults. Rites and rituals in religious services were gradually becoming a lot of worship practices that one could hardly distinguish one religious identity from another. In general terms, before Catholicism was introduced into Vietnam, the Vietnamese people venerated Heaven, Buddha, geniuses in heaven and on earth, demons and Gods, and departed souls.  Roman Catholicism, which was introduced into the country in the 15^th century, and later, Evangelical Christianity, which came to the country in the beginning of the twentieth century, add to the religious life much more spiritual coloration in the faith in God and the search for the truth of beliefs of all souls. The two indigenous faiths, Caodaism and Hoa Hao Buddhism, contribute to the elevation of Man's souls, glorifying the universal love of Man and Supreme Being's favors.

Preservation of unity and respect for diversity, and concord in tolerance are characteristic of diverse faiths, reelecting the spirit of concord and solidarity of the Vietnamese people. The inclusive complexity of the spiritual and moral life of the Vietnamese are reflected in the religious practices that seem to be illusory and confusing to most foreigners and visitors to Vietnam. The traditional rites and rituals performed at the communal house, pagoda, temple, shrine, and ancestral house in the old days and even at a Catholic church nowadays denote accented similarities in the veneration of the Supreme Being, Heaven and Earth, the Lord in Heaven, Buddha, saints and geniuses, national heroes and benefactors, and ancestors. Although with diverse and various ceremonial proceedings, the worship is conducted in deep contemplation and kowtow before the altar, offering incense and smoking aloe-wood. The recognizance and respect of all these practices regardless of whether they are originally from Confucianism, Buddhism, or Taoism, they all explain why the Vietnamese religions of different faiths observe certain similar rites. They hold to their own faith while respect the faiths of others. Religious tolerance and infusion of religious practices are characteristic of Vietnamese culture and civilization .They has been preserved from immemorial times.

Throughout the history of the country, the religion is at the heart of national union and stability. All faiths lay foundations for national cultural, spiritual, and moral life. All faiths elevate awareness of senses of benevolence and serve people of all walks of life, integrate them into a cohesive society and live in concord and harmony. They glorify divine presence in the world of men, live up to and enhance better love between and among them. They uphold and persevere perennial spiritual and moral values and ways of life, Buddhism exalts universal love and the peace of mind.  Christianity inspired ordinary people to build communities that embody their vision of the perfect world in the most desolate places. Caodaism honors foreign deities and gods in  the Church’s pantheon and partakes the faiths of other religions. Hoa Hao Buddhism eulogizes Buddhist benevolence, honors filial duties, and glorifies the love for the country they all foster integrity, lenience, and clemency. In the heydays of feudalism in Vietnam when Buddhism was elevated to the official state religion, the emperor’s administration still opened door to those Taoists who want to escape a despotic rule or a world of intrigues. the  All these faiths aspire to build a world of benevolence, peace, concord, and harmony, alienating hatred and vengeance and softening the tyrannical power of the despotic emperor and  monopoly of totalitarianism.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Religious Freedom

By Van Nguyen




Overview

In the Marxist viewpoint, a fundamental principle of dialectical materialism on religion is: “It is man who creates the religion and not the universe.” This principle has its origin from materialism of the ancient Greece. It was developed in the Renaissance, then, at the time of the Enlightenment in Europe. It was especially enamored by the classical materialist philosopher, Fuerbach, who conceived that “the conscience of God is the conscience of man created by man himself, and the knowledge of God is the knowledge of man created by man himself.” Karl Marx reinforced Fuerback’s viewpoint: “Man is not an abstract being hidden somewhere in the world. Man is the human world, the State, the society. This State, this society has engendered the religion.” In the same tune, Engels claimed: “Religions are all illusory—within the interior of the human brain—in the human brain.” The materialist viewpoint naturally opposes the religious viewpoint. In this regard, God is a transcendental being, an ideal image of man. The faithful all glorify the name of God and expand his domain by transcendental love among and between human beings. Secular power must not be used to nullify human love and ideal.

     Monopoly of Power

To uphold the principle of dialectical materialism, the Communist Party and successive governments of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam have striven to carry out a class struggle to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat in Vietnam. Throughout seven decades since the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, this proletarian regime has misappropriated all means of production and exchanges, destroying the "bourgeoisie" and the remnants of imperialism that constitute it and establishing a socialist State. This one-party State shows all its ambitions to exercise monopoly of power to govern the entire Vietnamese population and shape the development of the Vietnamese society as well as the fate of the individuals in it. This party considers itself the savior of the nation. It empowers itself with the right to the leadership of the nation. It vests itself with the mission to bring into play what it calls a socialist transformation of the nation. None of the sectors of the political and social life could escape from it. And, the religion is not an exception.  

Holding on to monopoly of power, the Communist Party voluntarily eliminates any civil organization that it considers as its enemy, The 1992 Constitution, for instance, provides the right to freedom of religion with exception: No one may use religious adherence or belief to violate the State laws and policies. Religious organizations may become competing centers for power. The Party has thus divided oppressed, repressed, and persecuted followers of all faiths and isolated their leaders from them. It establishes State-sponsored religious bodies such as the Catholic Patriotic Association and the Buddhism Church of Vietnam as watchdogs to control the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam and exterminate the Vietnam Unified Buddhist Church.

Despite the 1992 Constitution which states the separation of powers between the Party and the State, the functioning of the social political institutions of Vietnam exhibit identical entreaties of the Party and the State. The distinction in viewpoints, the interpretation of the laws, regulations, and policies is virtually nominal. Everything is decided by the Communist Party of Vietnam. The official ideology -communism-- is considered to be the legitimate way of life. It forms the backbone of all other social institutions. It institutes the history of the Vietnamese people and establishes the supra- and infra-structures of the country. Still, Article 70 of this constitution overlooks the three fundamental principles of religious freedom: the freedom of propagation, the separation between secular authority and divine authority and the neutrality between the State and the Church. Without these principles, the Church, religious freedom is non-existent.

 In the legislative law of 2005, the term religion appears in a list of the categories of particular attention. It is one of the elements of ideological categories viewed as one of the classes to be eliminated as defined by Marx and Engels. In this by-passing period towards communism, the Party allows, out of objective requirements, the realization of unity of all societal components. They should be integrated in an organic unity so that all members in these social categories will eventually become one of the would-be unified Vietnamese socialist families. This unity is further mentioned in the list of groups --classes-- for which the Party and State is due to elaborate a particular policy. The religion is envisaged as a distinctive feature to be treated to the interest of the totality of the communist society. It is viewed, in the last resort, as a real problem to the Party.

  

The Legitimacy of the Religion

The religion is cited, however, as one of the traits of diversity of the cultural, moral, and instinctive life of Man. It is a spiritual element that contributes to the civilized civil society. It is an institution in itself and for itself, socially and culturally, it is a composite moral and spiritual element that helps build the community unity. It is an entity that is true and real to it. It is personal, exceptional, and independent from the State. Above all, it is a way of life. From immemorial times, it enlightens the lives of men and women on different levels of culture and civilization. It provides them with moral, spiritual, and intellectual guidelines. It gives meaning to their existence and to the world they inhabit.  It gives them solace and hope for the future. Of most significance, it inspires them to build new communities that embody their vision of the perfect world in the most desolate places. The claims of the religion are not in conflict with the claims of the State. Rather, they complement them.

Throughout the history of the nation, all religions help shape the integration of the Vietnamese people into a cohesive society and reinforce the presence, if not the power of the secular power, while softening its rule.  They serve as a refuge for those who want to escape this rule and a vehicle of dissent for those who respect the all-compassing claims of the State. In a way, the dissenters could, on behalf of their religious beliefs and of their viewpoints be intransigent with those who disagree with them. Save for the harsh conditions under the emperors of the early Nguyen Dynasty (19th Century), who elevated Confucianism to the unequalled political supremacy at the excusion of other religions, the three major religions--Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism—ever coexisted in harmony. The Communist State of Vietnam is, in many ways, heir to the despotic Confucian state under the Nguyen dynasty. This is self-evident in its leadership. Like its Confucian predecessors, it has made rigorous attempts to control the religious life of its population, only with the aid of the State orthodoxy, Marxism-Leninism. The leadership insists that the Vietnamese Catholic Church be a national Church. It has ordered the confiscation of properties belonging to the Buddhist Churches, including schools and orphanages, on the grounds that the State alone should run such institutions. It refuses to allow draft-aged males into the ranks of the Catholic and Buddhist clergy. As a matter of fact, these attempts at the State control have provoked reactions.

Although the Communist Party is securely at the helm, its leaders are taking no chances. Periodic appeals for vigilance against the enemies of the State continue to be issued.  Chiefs among these suspected enemies are members of the Caodaists and Hoa Hao Buddhists, as well as the Catholics and Buddhists.  The modern State has greater powers and much more effective means of control than the traditional imperial State ever possessed. It is conceivable that the Communist State will succeed where the despotic Confucian State did not. But religious aspirations are too strong to be easily uprooted. The outcome of the centuries-old tension between state and religion is very much in the laps of the Gods (Hue Tam Ho Tai, The Vietnamese Forum .1987: 144-14)