Religious beliefs in Vietnam

Vietnamese people don’t call themselves as religious people but they act as one. Mostly they go to religious temples and worship on their beliefs. Their government ruled that they can follow one or more religions or none. The government also declared that they can practice religion freely and should not use it to violate the law. Six of their religions are recognized by the state; 3 were established in the early centuries; and one is a religious sect.

The 10 religions in the country of Vietnam are Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism (also known as Taoism), Roman Catholic, Cao Dai (pronounced as cow die), Hoa Hao (pronounced as wah how), Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism. The most common people in Vietnam are into Buddhism. Almost 80% of Vietnamese are practicing this religion including all its sects. Mahayana Buddhism came from China and spread through out the Vietnam’s Red River Delta at around 300 BC. While Theravada Buddhism that hailed from India arrived into the southern Mekong Delta region around 300-600 AD. On the other hand, Christianity entered the country in 16th century through the catholic missionaries. The influence of Christianity was later strengthened when Vietnam was under the French colony. Cao Dai and Hao Hao were founded during the 19th century in the Mekong River. Hao Hao is closely related to Buddhism while Cao Dai is a Buddhism that has the principles of Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity. Like other countries in Asia, religions are very sacred to the Vietnamese.