Religion in Vietnam - Research Paper Example

Religion in Vietnam Introduction Religion is an essential part of every nation with Vietnam included. This is because of its close relationship to the history of Vietnam and most importantly to the culture. In addition to this, it presents a hope that everyone would want to associate with in the everyday life (Simkin, 1). However, some religions are a sure problem to some countries. Vietnam as a country has no outstanding religion, but Buddhism seem to be the religion that boasts of a high following. Most people in this country like to be termed as unreligious. This is when Taylor (32) says, “One only finds among them a mix of idolatry and native, gross superstitions”. Consequently, a majority of the Vietnamese go to pagodas as a way to find peace on their mind. Long ago, they used to go to these places of worship to pray for robust health, contentment and riches especially on Tet holidays that are normally at the beginning and mid month. It is noteworthy that these activities were influenced by many myth stories about gods and existence of exceptional persons in the bona fide world (Simkin, 3). This is depicted in the “Green’ article’ in which the narrator is a physical witness of the happenings in the Buddhist world. To some extent, this is true because the Empires of China significantly affected religion in this country some 1000 years back. China is known for its Buddhist traditions that have undoubtedly shaped their view of life. This is depicted in the commitment to these traditions and their preservation. This means that the culture and religion of China has a significant influence on Vietnam’s religion. This paper discuses the Vietnams’ native religion by focusing on the Transformations that occurred after the arrival of missionaries and anticommunism crusades. I say this because those they came in contact with and religion have always shaped the lives of the Vietnamese is no exception, for its practice has had both positive and negative effects. Arrival of missionaries The arrival of missionaries in Vietnam was a sure sign of change especially for those who wanted wealth. Portuguese Christian missionaries settled in Vietnam in the 16th century. The Spanish and the French later followed them in the subsequent centuries. The arrival of the French missionaries in Vietnam in the 17th century was to have an effect on how people worshipped and how they talked to their god (Fox, 5). This is because their influence profoundly affected the manner in which Vietnam developed several years later. “Vietnamese society during the 17th and 18th centuries experienced many vicissitudes and complexities that created favourable conditions for the development of Christianity”(Fox,1). This is not only in the religious conviction but in addition in the political systems. This is because it was part of the cause of the Vietnam War that its effects have continued to be experienced until the recent past. Even, though, the missionaries received a warm welcome from the local population, this waned away after the realization that the missionaries had stated to recruit the population into their own religion. This is one of the chief reasons that lead to the conversion of Buddhists to Christianity and its expansion. The local population’s religion was to be transformed from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism for ease of governance. This is because, within the missionaries, there were explorers who determined the place to be a most favorable site to expand its empire. Threfore, the local population was encouraged to abandon their traditions and be loyal to God and not to the Emperor on conversion to Catholicism. This received a boost when French troops were sent to protect the missionaries, for they had been cases of frequent murders of catholic priests. This reinforcement and the subsequent surrender of Vietnam emperor allowed for continued conversion of the local population. The efforts of China to drive out the French troops from Vietnam that were thwarted by the French Army's moves only signaled the start of a big battle. This army had been reinforced almost seventeen years after the Vietnam Emperor had surrendered. Therefore, this lead to the expansion of the French empire with neighboring states like Cambodia and Laos being added by the year 1983. Therefore, just like their neighbor China that had an influence on their religion, the French changed most of the way of living of the Vietnamese people. Change to the Vietnamese was necessary, and in case of lack of cooperation, they were punished (Lambert, 46). This is one of the reasons as to why there was the conversion of most of the Buddhists into Christians. However, even though some refused, the magnitude of those accepting the conversion was high as compared to those who resisted. This is because those who went along to adopt catholic values and a few of French civilization received favors from the French. This was a significant attraction to the local population. This people transformed into a middle class that helped the French people to disseminate its rule to the local population. Anticommunism The advent of anticommunism in Vietnam was to have adverse effects on Buddhist religion for the two were opposing each other. This is because before its arrival Buddhism enjoyed autonomy in the governing of the state because of its fanatical following. The rising communist religion persecuted most of the Buddhists thus leading to the decline in the rituals as well as the practices of the Buddhists (Lambert et al, 67). In addition to most of the pagodas that were the worship of the people were destroyed. This left them with no option but just to worship in secret. Meanwhile, this had a direct effect on the spread of Catholicism in Vietnam. Therefore, communism had a direct influence on the spread as well as the decline in the continued superiority of Buddhism. This is because Buddhism was associated with the communism that had been rampant during the existence of the Soviets Empire. However, the US were not ready to relent on this. “The United States feared that their efforts would have been wasted if communism were to spread to South Vietnam” (Simkin, 1). In the 1960s, the main religion was Buddhism with a following of eighty percent of the total population in South Vietnam. This only left a mere ten percent to the catholic religion. Therefore, this finding led to the French empire enacting laws to discourage the further growth of the Buddhist religion. However, this came after the French had decided to use the converted Buddhists in the running of the government. They had been given top positions in the government with Ngo Dinh Diem being the president. This duration of time helped in the expansion of the catholic religion especially in South Vietnam. This Roman Catholicism in South Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 was among one of the principal reasons that led to the spread of Christianity in this country. The government was biased towards the Catholics especially in positions in the public service as well as military promotions. They were also favored in the allocation of land of and tax dispensation. This, therefore, led to most people converting to Catholicism, for they believed that their career prospects depended on this conversion. It is noteworthy that this regime in South Vietnam was a fuel to the expansion of the roman Catholism (Lambert, 42). This religious bias rules by President Ngo Dinh Diem led to demonstrations among the monk who called for recognition of all religions. However, this was to their disadvantage, for it led to arrest of thousands of these demonstrators most of whom disappeared and never came back. This had an effect, even though dismal, to the Buddhist religion. It, therefore, functioned to reduce the gap that existed between the two opposing religions. Vietnam War China’s efforts on French troops resulted into ignition of a long battle that saw involvement of many nations such as US. However, this resulted in sequence of involvement of other countries with the US being the last entrant. Therefore, this lead to the expansion of the French empire with neighboring states like Cambodia and Laos being added by the year 1983 and termed as Indochina (Simkin, 12). Therefore, just like their neighbors China that had an influence on their religion, the French changed most of the way of living of the Vietnamese people. Change to the Vietnamese was necessary, and in case of lack of cooperation, they were punished. This is one of the reasons as to why there was the conversion of most of the Buddhists into Christians. However, even though some refused, the magnitude of those accepting the conversion was high as compared to those who resisted. This is because those who went along to adopt catholic values and a few of French civilization received favors from the French. This was a strong attraction to the local population. This people transformed into a middle class that helped the French people to disseminate its rule to the local population. This war lasted the longest time than any other military war in the history of America. It took place from 1945-1975 (Simkin, 14). It was because of America wanting to discontinue the swell of communism in Vietnam since it was one of the issues of the cold war. This was directed against the South Vietnamese government that was led by Ho Chi Minh. This northern government embraced communism, as opposed to the southern noncommunist regime. Therefore, these separate government parties with different ideologies on the governance of Vietnam had a role to play in the spread of Catholic (Nguyen, 178). This war resulted into many dramatic effects on the people of Vietnam particularly the south. This is because of their communist values that were against US expectations. “In 1954 when Vietnam was divided many anti-communists Catholics came south and became the mainstay behind Ngo Dinh Diem and the South Vietnamese government” (Fox,1). This is due to the victory of the northern Vietnam. Therefore, this resulted into South Vietnamese being forced to embrace the communist rule that was recognized by the north. Given that communism went hand in hand with Christianity, Roman Catholicism received a higher hand in its spread that was being supported by the government. This is because the southerners most of whom were Buddhists were sent to concentration camps (Nguyen, 52). This affected the practice of Buddhism in a number of ways that resulted into a drop in its following. This is because freedom of practice of this religion was hindered. However, this in turn had positive effects on the spread of Christianity in Vietnam. Around the Vietnam War, their existed two different parties of different religions in Vietnam. These parties led to the development of rivalry that was based on the ideologies they embraced. However, the north was mostly favored and, therefore, their dominance in the government led to the southerner’s enmity. This is because it is clear that the Buddhists had peculiar values and traditions that they were involved in as a way of worship (Tucker et al, 78). The Buddhists believed that it was for the living to pray for the dead souls so that their spirits could rest in peace and stop wandering in the realm. Butler (6) asserts that there was a market in which there was trading of birds and other paraphernalia for worship. It is at this market that the parrot in the article” Green” was bought and lived long enough to be passed down from grandfather to his grandchild. This shows that these gods are normally taken care of in a special way for they seem to be a connection between them and the dead. Another issue that emerged from this story was that the Buddhists claimed that the souls of those who converted to Catholicism wandered in the realm. Therefore, it was the responsibility of the living Buddhists to pray to their gods to enable the peace of their souls. That is why the narrator had to pray for the soul of his catholic father whose image was inserted in a frame, in a private room (Taylor, 24).This is when Butler (3) in the article ‘Mr. Green’ says that “Don’t worry grandfather, I will always say prayers for you and make offerings for you, even if I’m a catholic.” Therefore, these parties functioned in a way that they opposed one another. The northern party banned the flying of religious flags especially during the holidays of the Buddhists. However, they still flew their own catholic flags during national holidays. This, in a way led to loss of confidence in the Buddhist religion and it, played a role in more conversions to Catholicism. This was synergized by the many rules, incentives that favored the spread of Christianity at the expense of Buddhism. Conclusion In Vietnam, Christianity led to both negative and positive effects to the local population. The country benefited from the wealth that was created due to the infrastructure like the rail systems and the creation of industries. However, to those who had not collaborated and converted to Christianity, they were adversely affected. This is because they had been deeply rooted to the customs and traditions of their religion that being distracted meant a change of life. Therefore, the French missionary in Vietnam did not only bring them religion but also financial achieving in matters of trade. It is also true that some people were forced to convert to catholic religion by being enticed against their will because of lucrative positions in the public workforce. In addition, the existence of two parties during the Vietnam War that defended both sides of the religion. This, therefore, enabled the spread of Catholicism that was under threat of the Buddhist majority. The regime of the first president, in part, had an effect on this spread, for it created a favorable environment for the spread. “...collaborated and agreed to abandon Buddhism and to adopt the Catholic religion and other French customs. In exchange for this sacrifice, they were granted privileges in the new Vietnam “(Simkin, 1). TThis is because of the policies that had been enacted to undermine the continued practice and spread of Buddhism. Therefore, the spread of Roman Catholicism in Vietnam was majorly influenced by the missionaries and anti communism movements. References Butlers, Robert. A good scent from a strange Mountain. “Mr Green”.Print. Fox, Thomas and publisher of NCR. "Today's Take: Vietnam's 400-year Catholic History." Go to http. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. .Print. Lambert Surhone, Miriam Timpledon, Susan Marseken "Religion in Vietnam - - Google Books." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. ..Print. Nguyen, Tai. The history of Buddhism in Vietnam. CRVP, 1997. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. .Print. Simkin, John. "Vietnam." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. .Print. Taylor, Philip. Goddess on the rise: pilgrimage and popular religion in Vietnam. University of Hawaii Press, 2004. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. .Print. Tucker, Spencer. Vietnam. University Press of Kentucky, 1999. 16 Mar. 2012. .Print. Read More