The Vietnamese Constitution of 1992 guarantees freedom of religion or belief; however, in reality the situation is fragile. Conditions for believers vary according to region, ethnicity, legal status, denomination and relationship with the authorities. It is difficult to make generalisations. However, it is clear that religious freedom is restricted for many religious groups in Vietnam including Protestants, Catholics, and some Buddhist denominations.

Freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam

The 2009 government census puts the number of Catholics at 5,677,086 and the number of Protestants at 734,168. It is not clear whether this figure includes all or some unregistered church Christians, and the full number is likely to be significantly higher. According to sources inside the country, 55% of all Protestants are located in the Central Highlands. Buddhism has the largest number of followers, between 10-16% of the population. The number of Buddhists is divided between the government-sanctioned Buddhist Church of Vietnam (BCV) and the independent Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). The UBCV is banned by the government. The UBCV’s leader, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, has spent over 26 years in detention, and is under effective house arrest at the time of writing. 

The Government of Vietnam has made a number of attempts to address religious freedom concerns raised by domestic and international actors. In 2013 the government replaced the widely criticised Decree 22, issued in 2005, concerning the implementation of the Ordinance on Belief and Religion. In 2012 and 2013 the government continued to work with international partners to provide training on aspects of religious freedom and the law to both religious leaders and government officials. In January the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, met with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Rome, a move seen by some Catholics as an effort to improve relations between the Vatican and the Vietnamese Government.

However, the situation for religious communities in Vietnam is, in reality, a mixed picture. Some Protestant Christians, for example, benefitted from being allowed to register during the period leading up to Vietnam’s ascendency to the World Trade Organization in 2006, when a large number of applications were accepted. After this period, however, applications were subject to long-term delays.  A decree that replaced Decree 22 on 1 January 2013, named ‘Decree No. 92/2012/ND-CP: Specific provisions and measures for the implementation of the Ordinance on Belief and Religion’, was criticised by Buddhist, Protestant and Catholic leaders, as well as lawyers and activists, for its use of vague and ambiguous terminology, and for introducing new bureaucratic obstacles to the peaceful and lawful activities of religious believers. Rather than concentrating on what is needed to secure religious freedom, the Decree focuses on monitoring, managing and controlling religious life. 

Social repression and official response

Protestants from both registered and non-registered denominations, as well as Catholic clergy and lay people, continue to face violations ranging from intrusive surveillance, discrimination and harassment, to forced eviction, arrest, detention, torture and extra-judicial killing. In 2013, CSW received reports of severe beatings and arbitrary arrest in the north-west, attacks on Protestant churches and Catholic priests in the Central Highlands, and the death in police custody of a young church leader who had previously opposed the closure of his church.

In some cases the perpetrators are police and local officials. However, one of the main concerns raised by Protestant pastors and churches in Vietnam is the growing tendency for new Christian converts to be targeted by members of their own local community. Often it is unclear to what extent this social pressure is being encouraged by the local authorities. However, in some cases it is clear that the authorities are working together with locals. CSW has received reports accusing local authorities of hiring gangs to harass and sometimes beat Catholics and Protestants. 

Attacks on new Christians most often have the aim of pressuring the convert to recant. The act of coercing a person into leaving a religion is prohibited by Article 2 of Decree 92. Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party, also includes the provision that “[n]o-one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice”. The duty of the state to is not limited to protecting the right to convert in law; according to a report by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, the state also has an obligation to “protect the right to conversion against possible third-party infringements, such as violence or harassment against converts by their previous communities or their social environment”. Therefore, whether the perpetrators are police and officials or other citizens, the government has a responsibility to protect religious communities from religious freedom violations.

There has been at least one positive example of higher authorities providing resettlement support and compensation to Christian families forced to flee their homes due to intense and prolonged attacks on their property and their personal safety. This response is a welcome example of a positive outcome for the victims. However, more could be done. Crucially, perpetrators of violations against religious communities must be brought to justice. 

Human rights and rule of law

Problems with impunity, corruption and weak rule of law affect not only religious minorities but the whole society too. In early 2013 the Communist Party asked the public to comment on proposed changes to the Constitution.  In response, a group of intellectuals and former government officials put forward an alternative constitution of their own, calling for, amongst other things, democratic elections and freedom of the press. In the months that followed, activists reported a crackdown on Vietnamese citizens calling for and discussing these issues as well as human rights. Bloggers who posted articles about corruption, impunity and justice have been arrested and detained. The government is in the same instance calling for public comment and suppressing open discussion of the human rights. 

CSW’s work on Vietnam

CSW believes freedom of religion or belief urgently needs to become a reality in Vietnam, codified in law and implemented in practice at the ground level. We rely on a network of activists and religious leaders to gather information on specific cases of religious freedom violations. We use this information to brief key individuals and institutions such as the office of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the British Government, the European External Action Service, the US State Department, and diplomatic missions in Vietnam. We also produce specific briefings analysing legislation such as Decree 92, and maintain a case list of religious prisoners of conscience. 

Timeline

1945: Proclamation of Independence, signifying independence from France and the beginning of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

1964-1973: America-Vietnam War; the US withdraw in 1973, but fighting continues until 1975

1975: North and South Vietnam are reunited under communism

1981: The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is banned

1986: The launch of the ‘doi moi’ economic reform process

1995: Vietnam becomes a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

2004: Vietnam is added to the US State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), but removed in 2006 against the recommendation of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom

2007: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung meets the Pope in Rome, followed by President Nguyen Minh Triet two years later

2007: Catholic priest and activist Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly is sentenced to eight years imprisonment for “disseminating slanderous and libellous information” harmful to the state

2009: 40,000 people attend a Christmas celebration in Ho Chi Minh City, the first event of its kind on this scale

2013: New Decree No. 92/2012/ND-CP: Specific provisions and measures for the implementation of the Ordinance on Belief and Religion comes into effect on 1 January

Factbox

• The Vietnamese government recognises 54 ethnic groups. There are many more subgroups in the country
  
• Major religious traditions in Vietnam include Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Caodaism and Hoa Hao
  
• Over half of all Protestant Christians in Vietnam are from ethnic minority groups
  
• According to a report in 2002 by the Pew Forum, 24% view religion as being ‘very important’