Religions

Religions: Vietnam has a diverse mix of major religions with a large number of followers, religious figures, and monks such as Buddhism, Christianity and Muslim and some indigenous religions such as Caodaism and Hoa Hao, etc.

Buddhism: There are two sects of Buddhism: Mahayana and Theravada (Hinayana). Mahayana Buddhism was introduced in Vietnam in the 2nd century B.C, and Theravada was introduced in Vietnam in the 2nd century A.D. After the 10th century, Buddhism developed very quickly in Vietnam and became the national religion under the Ly-Tran dynasty. At present, there are 10 million Buddhist followers, 20,000 pagodas and 38,000 Buddhist monks and many schools offer Buddhist training in Vietnam.

Catholicism: Catholicism was introduced in Vietnam in the 15th century by European missionaries. Catholicism was first popular in coastal provinces such as Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, then spread throughout the Red River delta and cities. At present, there are six million Catholics, 6,000 churches and 15,000 Catholic priests in Vietnam.

Protestantism: Protestantism was introduced in Vietnam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, it was not until 1920 that Protestantism became popular all over the country. At present, there are one million Protestants and 500 Protestant churches in Vietnam.

Muslim: Muslim religion was introduced in Vietnam by the Cham people in the 10th and 11th centuries. At present, there are 100 mosques, 70,000 Muslim followers and 700 dignitaries in Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, An Giang, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai provinces and Ho Chi Minh city. There are two schools of Muslim in Vietnam: orthodox Muslim with followers who are Cham people from Chau Doc, Ho Chi Minh city, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai provinces; and non-orthodox Muslim (or Cham Ba Ni) with followers who are Cham people from Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces.

Caodaism: Caodaism is an indigenous religion created in Tay Ninh province in 1926. Caodaism worships three Supreme Beings namely Buddha, Jesus Christ and Cao Dai God. At present, there are 2.3 million Cao Dai followers, 7,100 dignitaries and 6,000 temples in Vietnam. The centre of Caodaism is Tay Ninh province.

Hoa Hao: Hoa Hao, also called Hoa Hao Buddhism, is another indigenous religion created in 1939 in Hoa Hao Village, Tan Chau District, An Giang Province. This religious sect is concentrated in the Mekong River delta and its membership is estimated at about 1.2 million.

Copyright: Ministry of Foreign Affairs