The Influence of Protestant Church in Vietnam from 1900 to 1975 - Coursework Example

A STUDY IN EVANGELISM AND HOUSE CHURCH GROWTH IN VIETNAM FROM 1975 TO 2005 Introduction Vietnam remains an enigma posing a question which may be relevant in the world searching for lasting peace and equitable distribution of the world’s wealth. How could a country such as Vietnam which has suffered much from colonialism and the Vietnam War could at the moment of its independence becomes intolerant of religious beliefs. Evangelism and the important role of house churches played in keeping the fire of the movement for religious tolerance remains to be scrutinized in the level of socio-cultural-political context on one hand and in the theological core of the movement at other. We can readily see the significant difference in tact of viewing evangelism in pursuing an evaluative discourse. On one hand religious persecution has its roots on the political history of Vietnam and fear of its current leadership that religion particular Christianity as a fundamental attribute of its colonial past. But on another hand, religion ought to be viewed separately and in no way poses a security to the Vietnam’s power hierarchy (Simson, 1998). It may be of importance to underscore the fact that religion and religious practices are dynamic processes and not always concerned with spirituality and that it has a history of bigotry, intolerance and other engagements which were of political nature rather than religious. Protestantism sprung from the rift in the Roman Catholicism which was known as the reformation movement in 1600’s (L. Lueker, 2000). Christian movement in Vietnam, since 1975 when Vietnam was reunited under the umbrella of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam has experienced systematic persecution and censorship. Such a trend gives us a glimpse of religious intolerance in the post cold war era. It would be interesting to situate evangelization and house churches in such a socio-cultural-political context. More important it would give a glimpse of the core values of such house churches which keeps the torch of faith burning in scarred land such as Vietnam. Any place in which a single human being suffers, we should suffer. That’s why many Evangelists came to Vietnam. The teaching of the Protestant Church is due in part to the great variety of communions in Protestantism (Hammond, 1983). The Protestant movement did not begin until the 20th century. In 1911, the missionaries of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) came to Danang in central Vietnam and began to sow evangelical seeds. It first spread north to Haiphong and Hanoi and then by 1918, to Saigon and to other cities in the South. In 1921 the first Vietnamese Church in Danang became fully self- supporting when it had membership of 115. The Bible School in Danang opened then moved to Nhatrang in 1960 (Zdero, 2002). House Churches During the same time, the number of Kinh adherents (or Vietnamese) has increased to 61,761 in 1989 to over 100,000 by the end of 1975. It is believed that the house church adherents could number between 50,000- 70,000 (Ministries, 2006).  We need to look at how religious intolerance in Vietnam has in a way compromised the Christian faith or answer the fundamental question, “Have Christians compromised their stand on truth? Has the evangelical church sold out to the world? The new regime which took over April 30, 1975 resulted to many churches, church offices, institutions and training schools being shut down. Laws allowed meddling and control over religious and church affairs. Witnessing bands and evangelistic meetings were prohibited, as well as youth rallies and conferences in the churches. Work schedules were arranged to interfere with church gatherings and many suffered job discrimination for attending church services. Many pastors were arrested and put in prisons and re-education camps. Although most of these pastors have been released, the authorities continue to detain Christian workers without trial (Asia, 2004). Vietnam says it will extend official recognition to a group representing Protestant churches in the centre and south of the country. The move will give legal status to about two hundred and fifty congregations belonging to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam. Vietnam has been criticized by international human rights groups for the tight control it exercises over religious groups. Last month, members of the mainly Christian ethnic minority in the Vietnamese Central Highlands staged protests over the loss of land to incoming migrants and alleged religious repression (Halloran, 1997). Evangelization and house churches To understand the importance of evangelization and house churches in the context of Vietnam’s policies on religious freedom is to understand the underpinnings of the systematic censorship and state coercion to stump out Christian religious practices. There are two trends which may be relevant to understand the role played by house churches and people who offer their homes as hub of activities considered inimical by the state. One, in spite of the prevalent repression of religious beliefs in Vietnam, the Christian community in Vietnam is thriving. Two, trend is despite the history of Vietnam as victims of colonial repression, the state exhibits attributes of being repressive. It is as if power consumes and makes people blind. In other words, Vietnam is in a crossroad and if we assume the premise of social change, something got to break. We will examine both these trends more closely. Thriving despite perils Vietnamese churches thrive amidst persecution was one of the outstanding findings in a study of Alex Buchan. He interviewed church leaders and other people engaged in church work in Vietnam. He cited the case of Rev. Dinh Thien Tu who was a pastor back in 1972 with 40 church members. By 1988, the church has a membership of 5,000. By the year 2000 the church had 40,000 membership (Buchan, 1999). What is significant here is that the Rev. Tu’s ministry mainly uses the cell model church. These are small groups connected in a network coordinated by Rev. Tu. According to the same research, it was in 1984 when Tu tried to get permission to extend the church they were using then which outgrew the need of the growing congregation. But their request was denied and house churches or small group organizing and networking presented itself as a viable option to go around the restrictions. Another congregation which took on the same tack according to Buchan was headed by pastor Ai who ministered to around 16,000 members scattered in Vietnam. Though the movement was internationally recognized by its affiliation with the Assemblies of God, the Vietnam government refused to its repeated attempt to register the ministry. Apparently, growth is not possible without an internal resolve and organization on the part of the ministries. The organizing pattern reflects a grassroots approach with a characteristic pattern of networking. One member trained to be an evangelist would enlist five others who would be trained in the same manner as the leader with an instruction to win others to the ministry. Such an approach would necessarily create localized impact on the lives of the members. Evangelization and the house churches or small group organizations could be credited with the phenomenon of conversion from one set of belief into another. The organizing style of house churches in Vietnam deserves a second look. According to the same report, pastor Ai was quoted as saying "We start our leaders at Caleb level. One month of training to win souls, then one month to go and win five souls, after that they are ready for the next level. Joshua level has three months of training, then three months to win 15 souls, plus reading through the Bible five times (Buchan, 1999).” Obviously such a rigorous approach to organizing is not the type of simply going to physical churches as say the practice of most Catholic churches which remains one of the dominant sects with over 6 million memberships. But the backbone of the Catholic Church has been established long before. The apparent difference in treatment of the authorities who were more tolerant of the Catholic church and markedly restrictive of the protestant missions especially those practicing house churches points out the fear of authorities not of the religious thinking but the manner of organization being practiced. And to fully contextualize the significance of house churches we explore the nature of restrictions and repression being perpetuated by Vietnamese authorities. The nature of power The case Rev. Tu who was prevented from extending his existing church facility is a good example on how growth of churches impacts on government resulting to greater restriction. The idea appeared to be fear of the authorities that there would be a competing ideology to official state positions. In other words, growth could be being interpreted as a repudiation of the state. In the case of Tu’s church, what was prevented was physical expansion of the church. Here, we see readily that house churches logically offer an option – an alternative to circumvent restrictions as a result of such restriction. Such a shift in strategy of the people who felt persecuted but with their beliefs intact could be construed as a sign of determination and resolve. What we called as offshoot of rightful indignation over certain acts we felt intervenes or violates our dignity as a human being. But apparently, the Vietnamese authorities are equally determined to enforce their will and the numerous reports of religious intolerance attest to this. A specific case reported by Michael Ireland illustrates this point (Ireland, 2006). “The Full Gospel congregation at Thieu Vien Hamlet, Town of Thieu Hoa, Thanh Hoa Province has been active since 1999. Up until recently they were allowed to conduct their activities without incident. However, all that changed on April 9, 2006 when the Public Security Police interrupted a home service and took church members to the police station. Church members there were instructed not to celebrate Easter. On April 16, church members therefore had to secretly celebrate Easter at a different location." In the above incident, some part of the system of religious belief such as celebrating certain occasions such as Easter which is important event in the life of Jesus Christ was banned. It was certainly a conscious act of breaking the will of the congregation into submission. The response of the members was to celebrate Easter in a clandestine manner. It is quite obvious here, that without a sort of organization the members would not be able to prepare and arrange the venue and their program to carry out the ceremonies for Easter celebration. We take note that Easter celebration in its religious context could have been taken by Vietnamese authorities as a challenge to control over the Vietnamese populace. The idea of an ascension, of rising from crucifixion to the full glory of salvation may be construed as alternative definition of power and definitive of power over life. Banning religious practices or elements of religious practices is by no means an innovation on the part of the Vietnamese authorities. It has been practiced in different variations throughout the history of mankind. Taking a political view Jesus Christ, the icon of Christianity was persecuted for His beliefs. And across the history of Christianity, persecution had been part of its experience. The core idea remains power. From the report of Ireland, the repression of the Full Gospel congregation was done repeatedly over prolonged period of time which continue today. This reflects a systematic harassment which is aimed at discouraging church activities. In other words, to stifle the effort of the congregation to expand its reach among the community. This excerpt from the report suggests the resolved of church members despite the odds: “The organization also says that on May 14, Nguyen Trung Ton and Nguyen Viet Thang, two church members, met at the house of Ms. Minh, also a church member, to study the Bible. The Cultural Committee of the hamlet took Ton, Thang, Minh and her two family members to the police station for questioning. There they were told that Thieu Vien Hamlet did not tolerate Protestantism. On May 26, Ms. Minh filed an application to register religious activities with the People’s Committee, but her application was rejected. Then on May 28, the Public Security Police again interrupted prayer service and took all church members to the police station. They must file a self-report before they were released. On June 4, the congregation was meeting at Ms. Minh’s when the Public Security Police broke in and took all to the police station. On the way, the police brutally assaulted several church members. Ms. Le Thi Duc, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le and Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhan were beaten till they bled. They were held at the police station, not allowed to have lunch. The police took their bicycles and ordered them to stop coming to Ms. Minh’s home for prayer service. Finally, on June 18 at 8:30 a.m, the Public Security Police broke into Ms. Minh’s home and arrested Nguyen Trung Ton, Hac Ngoc Si, Ms. Nhan, and Mrs. Lan. They were detained and not allowed to have lunch. At 4:30 p.m a Public Security Police officer by the name Nguyen Manh Hoe took all detainees in for interrogation. He then proceeded to beat up Ton and Si, causing serious injuries. Jubilee Campaign says: “All were forced to sign a statement to the effect that they would not convene at Ms. Minh’s to study the Bible any more. They were released at 6pm.” From the above excerpt from the report of Ireland, we can see the pattern of harassment. First, breaking into a house of prayer. Such an act is aimed at the psyche of those whose rights are being violated. Show the power that they can disrupt your activity anytime they want. In the case above, the local authorities as represented by a cultural committee and a national agency, the Public Security Police conducted the series of raids, detention, verbal and physical abuse and other intimidating acts. Second is arresting the members of the house church. The members were arrested, detained and questioned by the authorities. Such a ploy, only points out to the fact that the Christians here were being treated as criminals. And since religious belief is not a criminal offense even in Vietnam, we go on and conceive that the Vietnamese authorities fear not the belief but the way the Christians were organizing. Their beliefs and practices were becoming visible to the community and maybe the Vietnamese authorities view this an open challenge to their authority over the communities (Central, 2000). Here, we can understand why the Vietnam government could be alarmed. The indoctrination of church ministers and their training naturally would lead to people exhibiting certain behavior pattern. One of them is going to small prayer meetings and trainings. Such behavior patterns done in a regular basis would naturally be not lost to the local authorities. The local authorities would naturally report to their superiors. It would be helpful to comment on the political organization of Vietnam. There is the presence of the cultural committee working hand in hand public security police. The cultural committee suggest that the regime has its own set of ideology and beliefs which it is imposing on everyone in Vietnam. This is more or less a standard practice in most authoritarian regimes. The political structure is supported by a belief structure and anyone who think outside such belief system could be interpreted as an act of nonconformity or worse, a form of dissidence. There are degrees of suppression and it may be helpful to identify just what kind of a suppressive trend Vietnam is exhibiting. Religion is to some extent tolerated in Vietnam in contrast to other countries such as North Korea where the regime has forcefully eradicated religious practice. The concept of “Juche” or self-reliance was substituted to the practice of religion acting similar to a state religion. This cultural reeducation was created by the late Kil Il Sung in 1997 to guide all aspect of North Korean life (USAOD, 2007). Vietnam's experience is similar with China were religious practices are tolerated to some extent that it would not interfere with political matters. As political leadership is not determined by popular vote but by consensus within the party in power, the state does not much fear religious practices. In Vietnam, evangelization which is an active form of spreading the faith such act is causing an alarm because of its success (Birkey, 2000). Resolution of the issue There are two possible lines of actions which are interacting which could possibly in the long run resolve the issue of religious freedom in Vietnam. One, Vietnam through time in a number of ways, would ultimately let loose its grip on religious freedom. A change in regime, possibly a little at time, considering that the current regime in Vietnam remains stable and Vietnam exhibiting economic progress and development. Such economic progress would naturally open Vietnam to investments and more trade. The internationalization of then of its economy would hopefully give Vietnam a broader perspective on human rights. The internalization of the religious repressions being perpetuated in Vietnam would increase outcry not only from UN human rights watchers but with governments and international organizations. When it dawned on Vietnam’s authorities that liberalization of its policies on religious freedom would create an image of cosmopolitanism or that Vietnam is a good country to invest on, it would have no recourse but to liberalize. Two, ultimately, it would be the Christian brethrens in Vietnam who through its resiliency and resolve to continue practicing their faith who will be instrumental in gaining the freedom they desire. This means that the Christian churches of all denomination must come to a unified stance on religious freedom. The Christian faith in Vietnam has a history of resiliency and resolve which was tested when the Vietnam authorities clamped down on organized religion. Amidst continuing government persecution and discrimination until today, due to the intense spiritual desire and bold faith of the Vietnamese, even after April 30, 1975 when church institutions and Bible schools were confiscated and used for other purposes and Christian church leadership training was hidden away from the government, house churches were formed in private homes to maintain worship and spiritual activities (Direct085, 2004; Simson140, 1998). Here again, the role of the international community of nations to make leadership of nations respect a fundamental human rights could not be discounted more so not that there are communication technologies which make it easier to relay information from one part of the globe into another. It may take time but a global community of people who respects each other beliefs and settle their disputes in a manner which not in one way be an attempt at dehumanization. The plight of religious groups experiencing persecution have been taken up as an international issue and Vietnam which has been trying in to gain more international recognition and participate in the affairs of the international community of nations would be sensitive to the issue of such violations. An indication that the lobby towards greater tolerance was the report that a recent government concession has allowed the churches to print Vietnamese Bibles. About 15,000 have been printed so far. But still, other government regulations are still in force. There are restrictions against the churches doing youth work; the churches call it "choir time" and proceed with ministry. They are forbidden to open new churches; extensions are built on existing churches. Connectivity: people and religion A house church as we see is both personal and social and here we go to the basic “person” and the conception of being a “person.” Different cultures have their construct and to see clearly a path worthy of trekking in a Christian way is at the very a least a personal choice. A matter of grappling one’s conscience, a matter of identity in world full of violence, full of oppression and freedom and highest level of belief coincides. In a plane not academic but a real religious experience, an experience above the petty and trivial way of the flesh. But faith and resolve alone would not suffice, social development skills are necessary adjuncts to evangelization. The Christian communities have through the years developed such skills. We surveyed several such skills being used which are contributory to the persistence of the Christian faith. Pastors are trained not only in the matter of faith but organizing. One pastor states that the church grew because they had leaders that faced the persecution. There are more pastors today than there were before the Communist took over in 1975 (Group, 2007). Bible and material dissemination is an ongoing process which has international support. In one report up to 15,000 Bibles were distributed by one church organization operating in Vietnam. Leadership training and assistance are organizational dimensions which prepared pastors in the task of evangelization. Training includes basic education especially supportive of efforts to educate children of members. Literacy training is a part of the evangelical work in several parts of the country where literacy is as low as 20 percent. This is especially true among the tribal minority groups. Pastors and volunteers provide training and literacy materials in different tribal languages. Believers want to learn how to read and write so that when the new and the old testaments are translated in their language they can read the Bible. The approach is study it, share it, and preach it. Around 200 new churches have been planted with most of the leaders are graduates from the Bible school. Another dimension of Christian organizing is involving the whole family in the affairs of the church. That is the basic approach is family oriented. Thus there are women’s leadership trainings. In many churches, about 60 percent of those that attend church are women. In some cases, church leaders and even pastors who are imprisoned, their wives have taken on the leadership responsibility. The family oriented approach made the house churches far more stable as faith becomes a family affair. One dimension of organizing the Christian community is using is engagement in developmental activities. Small scale livelihood projects help to partially supply the needs of believers and allows the churches to grow (Birkey, 1991). It was perhaps this grass roots approach of the protestant churches in Vietnam which made it threatening to the current regime in Vietnam. We take note that evangelization given the different aspects of its organizing strategies has a strong attribute of being transformational. Transformational not only in faith but in social conception and practices. In other words evangelization could result to a profound social transformation of Vietnam whether the churches are cognizant of this or not. Obviously it would take time for the Vietnamese authorities to realize that the contribution of the protestant churches in Vietnam could be taken as a success of the Vietnamese people and does not contradict the cause espoused by the current regime. Progress and development are inevitable and has history thought us, they lead to greater individual freedom. Conclusion We may delve deeper to the nature of religiosity and discourse on the fine differences on how to view universals, mortality and “after life.” The core conflict in Vietnamese policies remains its inability to fully comprehend the implication of such a society which has experienced a horrendous war. The scar may have hardened and the vestiges of unjust political practices remain in the collective psyche of Vietnam’s political nomenclature. But as Vietnam travails the path toward acceptance into the community of nations it would be clear cut that repressive practices may bar it from fully participating in the affairs of nations. For the Vietnamese regime to come around and execute reforms towards greater religious freedom, the international community must support the churches in their travails. In the end, time and the persistence of the house churches, the appeal of Christian sobriety would erode restrictive walls barring religious freedom. But exploring the political and philosophical would lead to a dead end with only the theological as a new avenue to explore that binding force keeping people under persecution because of their religious beliefs. Socio-political discourse could lead us to understanding the nature of power and the desire to keep it but it would not explain the nature of faith and the experience of faith in everyday living. For this we go to the level of theological. For this we gain insight from the passages of the Bible, a document detailing not only nature of the Christian faith but experiences of its believers. In its pages are written the encouraging words even amidst the trying of times. In its pages are written words of wisdom. In its pages are words which are life giving. The state may have all the machineries of power but the protestant churches has the Bible. One insight from the Bible which could clearly define the house churches is, when our Lord spoke through John to the seven churches of Asia, he rebuked them for their sins, but he did not tell them all to join the same church--that wasn't one of their failings. The influence of Jesus working with anyone, under any label, as long as he knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and is living the life of a Christian disciple. Still to come, it is a vivid influence for the Kingdom of God. However, the Protestant Church has defined its orientations and action programmed with the motto of living the gospel, serving God, the Fatherland and the Nation. From there, we can imagine the peace that is at the core of all evangelists to bring the influence of Protestant Church to human life. The Bible is not only a source of religious teachings, within its pages could find guides even in how to organize and run cells or small group of believers. The famous passage “In three people you will find me” is a simple formula on how to bring people together but more important the reason why such groups persist and grow is embedded in the Christian virtues espoused. The actual experiences of members of house churches should be viewed in a higher level of understanding, as a religious experience which in house churches is very personal (in repressed situations could be endangering love ones). Without that religious experience, the cell would remain empty. The evangelists’ words would remain unheard. At the final analysis, it all boils down to a matter of faith as this quote from the Bible nicely suggest: Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. References Asia, R. F. (2004). "Vietnamese Police in Midnight Raid on Pastor's House". Retrieved March 11, 2007, from http://www.rfa.org/english/news/politics/2004/11/16/vietnam_mennonite/ Birkey, D. (2000). "'Mission' and the House Church". Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.hccentral.com/gkeys/mission.html Birkey, D. (1991). "The House Church: A Missiological Model". Retrieved December 28, 2006, from http://www.hccentral.com/birkey1/mismod1.html Buchan, A. (1999). "Vietnamese Churches Thrive Amidst Persecution". Retrieved December 21, 2006, from www.old.mbconf.ca/mb/mbh3603/viet.htm Central, H. C. (2000). "Why the House Church?" Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.hccentral.com/index.html Central, H. C. (2000). "The History of House Church Theology". Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.hccentral.com/gkeys/hchist.html Central, H. C. (2000). "The Doctrine of Church". Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.hccentral.com/dchurch.html Church, C. M. (2004). "MC-Canada Letter to the Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam". Retrieved March 11, 2007, from http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/peace/vietnam/ambassLetter.htm Direct, C. (2004). "Vietnam: Evangelical Fellowship Responds to New Religion Law, Call to Prayer Sent to Hundreds of House Churches". Retrieved March 6, 2007, from http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=206&backpage=archives Fraley, B. M. a. C. (2007). Online 1611 King James Version Bible. Retrieved January 15, 2007, from http://bibledatabase.net/html/kjv/psalms_26.html Group, B. (2007). "House Churches Are More Satisfying to Attenders Than Are Conventional Churches". Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=255 Halloran, R. (1997). "Even Under Siege, the Spirit Thrives Vietnam Will Go Only so Far in Tolerating Religion. Retrieved March 11, 2007, from http://www.fva.org/0297/halloran.htm Hammond, P. E. (1983). "In Search of a Protestant Twentieth Century: American Religion and Power since 1900". Retrieved December 25, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&docId=95716517 Ireland, Michael (2006) “Full Gospel Church in Vietnam Faces Persecution illustrated how state machineries both local and national are breaking up church gatherings.” ASSIST News Service L.Lueker, E. (2000). Christian Cyclopedia. Retrieved December 19, 2006, from http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/cyclopedia/02/display.asp?t1=A&t2=s Ministries, W. S. (2006). "Vietnam Overview: Country Statistics". Retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://www.lightsofchristmas.org/vietnam.html Simson, W. (1998). "Vietnam: Growth Under Persecution" Retrieved December 19, 2006, from http://www.jesus.org.uk/dawn/1998/dawn9822.html U.S.A., O. D. (2007). "Country Profile: VIETNAM". Retrieved January 18, 2007, from http://www.odusa.org/Display.asp?Page=VietnamProfile Zdero, R. (2002). "The History of House Churches: Practical Lessons for Today". Retrieved December 28, 2006, from http://housechurch.ca/index.php and http://www.newchurches.com/public/church_types/docs/house/history.pdf Read More

Any place in which a single human being suffers, we should suffer. That’s why many Evangelists came to Vietnam. The teaching of the Protestant Church is due in part to the great variety of communions in Protestantism (Hammond, 1983). The Protestant movement did not begin until the 20th century. In 1911, the missionaries of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) came to Danang in central Vietnam and began to sow evangelical seeds. It first spread north to Haiphong and Hanoi and then by 1918, to Saigon and to other cities in the South.

In 1921 the first Vietnamese Church in Danang became fully self- supporting when it had membership of 115. The Bible School in Danang opened then moved to Nhatrang in 1960 (Zdero, 2002). House Churches During the same time, the number of Kinh adherents (or Vietnamese) has increased to 61,761 in 1989 to over 100,000 by the end of 1975. It is believed that the house church adherents could number between 50,000- 70,000 (Ministries, 2006).  We need to look at how religious intolerance in Vietnam has in a way compromised the Christian faith or answer the fundamental question, “Have Christians compromised their stand on truth?

Has the evangelical church sold out to the world? The new regime which took over April 30, 1975 resulted to many churches, church offices, institutions and training schools being shut down. Laws allowed meddling and control over religious and church affairs. Witnessing bands and evangelistic meetings were prohibited, as well as youth rallies and conferences in the churches. Work schedules were arranged to interfere with church gatherings and many suffered job discrimination for attending church services.

Many pastors were arrested and put in prisons and re-education camps. Although most of these pastors have been released, the authorities continue to detain Christian workers without trial (Asia, 2004). Vietnam says it will extend official recognition to a group representing Protestant churches in the centre and south of the country. The move will give legal status to about two hundred and fifty congregations belonging to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam. Vietnam has been criticized by international human rights groups for the tight control it exercises over religious groups.

Last month, members of the mainly Christian ethnic minority in the Vietnamese Central Highlands staged protests over the loss of land to incoming migrants and alleged religious repression (Halloran, 1997). Evangelization and house churches To understand the importance of evangelization and house churches in the context of Vietnam’s policies on religious freedom is to understand the underpinnings of the systematic censorship and state coercion to stump out Christian religious practices. There are two trends which may be relevant to understand the role played by house churches and people who offer their homes as hub of activities considered inimical by the state.

One, in spite of the prevalent repression of religious beliefs in Vietnam, the Christian community in Vietnam is thriving. Two, trend is despite the history of Vietnam as victims of colonial repression, the state exhibits attributes of being repressive. It is as if power consumes and makes people blind. In other words, Vietnam is in a crossroad and if we assume the premise of social change, something got to break. We will examine both these trends more closely. Thriving despite perils Vietnamese churches thrive amidst persecution was one of the outstanding findings in a study of Alex Buchan.

He interviewed church leaders and other people engaged in church work in Vietnam. He cited the case of Rev. Dinh Thien Tu who was a pastor back in 1972 with 40 church members. By 1988, the church has a membership of 5,000. By the year 2000 the church had 40,000 membership (Buchan, 1999). What is significant here is that the Rev. Tu’s ministry mainly uses the cell model church. These are small groups connected in a network coordinated by Rev. Tu.

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