Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Prof. Dang Nghiem Van
Researcher on Nationalities and Religious Studies

Our country had undergone 30 years of devastating wars to gain national Independence and Freedom - the most precious asset of a nation and an individual. Hence, over three million people, brothers of the same kinship, sacrificed their lives for that cause. Bombardments poured down on our heads. They wanted to bring us back to the Stone Age. Coming out of wars, 80% of our population was farmers, who still suffered from injuries, and many of their beloved sons would never come back home. Though 30 years have elapsed since the end of wars, the war aftermath is still being strongly felt. Children and grandchildren of tens of thousands of families are victims of the Agent Orange or still missing. Therefore, such great losses have engraved in the mind of a nation whose religion is to respect the ancestors. Wars penetrated into each family, village and every path from North to South as well as Non-Catholics and Catholics sects.

Nonetheless, our entire nation has strived to join hands together in the cause of national reconstruction under difficult circumstances. To that end, we hope to receive any heart-felt assistance from all nation-states as the world is increasingly globalized and becomes as small as a village. It is our wish to cooperate with anyone in the quest for a world of peace, democracy, equality and advances for humankind. This can only be done through international conferences, exchanges of visits and experience sharing as well as joint-study projects on important matters for national construction.

As for religious question, a sensitive field and sacred ground of each nation and individual, it is regretted that during wartime in our country, religious organizations were divided into three groups: one in favour of the liberation war, one neutral group and a small section counter-running the revolutionary cause. That is understandable. As a researcher in social sciences and humanities, specialized in the issues of nationalities, cultures and religions, more than anyone else, I understand that Vietnam is a peace-loving and war-detesting nation as wars only cause sufferings, obstacles to the development of the country, villages and families. We need to stop tears shedding on mothers’ cheek, keep wives from being widows and children from orphans. The torn shirt should be sewed and wounds need to be healed.

Religions in our country have always had the tradition of tolerance, respecting the faith of others. Indeed, Vietnam is among a very few countries that had not had any religious war during the Middle Ages. Wars of religious nature only broke out when the Westerners set foot on this country and when Vietnam’s national independence clashed with the invaders. In face of foreign occupation, the patriotic blind writer Nguyen Dinh Chieu grieved: “National values must be maintained at any price”.

Since 1975, in the spirit of unity, the leaders of religious organizations in Vietnam have made great efforts to strengthen the unity within each religion, among all religions and between religions and the State. The Vietnam Pasteurs’ Council in 1980 wrote in a letter: “As religious followers within the Vietnamese nation, our fate is linked with that of our motherland. We shall build on our nation’s tradition; integrate ourselves into the daily life of the country … as this is the place where God has called upon us to be his children. This land is the mother love harbouring us to fulfill noble missions of God. This nation is the community that God has given us to serve as citizens and as parts of God”. Buddhism, a religion with two thousand years of development in Vietnam, convened a national congress in 1981 to unite all Buddhist organizations in the country. In his opening speech, Venerable Thich Tri Thu, Head of the Dharma Executive Council of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, head of the Vietnam Buddhism Unification Committee, said: “For the very first time in the two-thousand-year-long history of Buddhism in Vietnam, we have been able to gather representatives from all organizations, congregations and sects, Mahayana (Greater Vehicle), Therevada (Lesser Vehicle), Khmer Buddhism throughout the country, here in this solemn and magnificent hall, with the solid determination to build a Buddhist home of Vietnam”.

In realizing President Ho Chi Minh’s statement on 3rd September 1945, in which he called for “freedom of belief and unity among religions”, the Party and socialist State of Vietnam advocated building a laicite state. Accordingly, all citizens are free to choose their religious faith, all religions are equal before the law, and practicing religion is the right of each individual.

Religions are independent of schools and the State. Every citizen is obliged to comply with the Constitution and laws of the State. The Party’s resolutions have stated that religious practice is a spiritual need of the people. Religion will exist and religious teachings can be tapped for the construction of a new society. It is quite rare for a Communist Party to adopt such an attitude, i.e. the Socialist State openly recognizes religion as part of culture and a spiritual element that has relations with the invisible world. Religion is the company of the nation and socialism. Religious ideologies have been introduced at Universities and religious research institutes established. Religious publications are widely circulated and available at bookshops. Churches, temples and pagodas are renovated and new ones built, which are frequently visited by the people. My friends – scientists from abroad are surprised to find that most of churches and pagodas are renovated or newly built, a large number of people practice religions and these practitioners live in peace in communes and villages. There is no place for discrimination and dispute.

My nation follows polytheism. The difference between monotheistic Western countries and us is that in our worshiping places, Gods of various religions are seated. Each Vietnamese person may participate in multi- religious activities. Our people, when alive, worship spirits. When they die and become spirits, they are worshipped by their children and grandchildren at least. If they have merits with the people and the country, they will become God of Merit of the village or the country as a whole. Recently, fishermen in Tam Giang village have built a temple to worship a communist director of the Fishery Department of Thua Thien Hue province who freed them from poverty and life of hardship at sea to have a better life by settling down and raising shrimps.

As representatives of the U.S. people, you must be tired of the US split over the Vietnam War and yearn for an U.S. respecting peace, freedom and civilization. President Bill Clinton said during his visit to Vietnam in 2000 that we should leave the past behind and look forward to the future, living up to expectations of both peoples. A new chapter has been opened in the bilateral ties between the two countries, which is mirrored not only in the economic and cultural fields but also in the area of defense with the exchange of visits by the two Defense Ministers. While advancing together toward a better relationship, with goodwill both sides should avoid unexpected issues. It is regretted that on 19th November 2003, the United States House of Representatives, led by a few Congressmen who received partial information from those taking aversion to the Vietnamese Government for certain reasons, approved the erroneous Resolution HR 427 which hurts the self-esteem of the Vietnamese scientists and people. Those Congressmen did not realize the fact that it takes time to sew ragged clothes. Despite their acknowledgement that “under the Constitution of Vietnam, freedoms of belief and religion are protected” (H.Res 427) and the Vietnamese Government led by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai “showed religious tolerance” in their attitude toward Venerables Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do (H.R 427), they did not realize fact that the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam with all the nine different branches from the North to the South had volunteered to merge into the Vietnam Buddhist Church. Leaders of the United Buddhist Church were elected to leading positions of the Vietnam Buddhist Church such as Venerables Thich Tri Thu, Thich Don Hau, etc.

We believe that those Congressmen, obsessed by the information from the people whom they know well, by accident, took actions detrimental to the relations between Vietnam and the United States.

As a scientist, I hope that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives and its Members will take an objective view about Vietnam and positive actions to strengthen our two countries’ relations. We wish to welcome more American scientists working in the field of social science and humanity, especially in the subject area of my own interest, to continue discussions and exchange of views as cooperation and exchanges represent the only right path for us to promote friendship and shared development.