Religions of Vietnam.
Confucianism, Taoism, and Mahayana Buddhism flowed into Vietnam over
many centuries. Gradually they became intertwined, simplified, and
Vietnamized to constitute, along with vestiges of earlier animistic beliefs,
a
Vietnamese folk religion that came to be shared to some considerable
extent by all Vietnamese, regardless of region or social class. Animistic
beliefs are held by many tribal peoples. During the 1920s the syncretic
religion of Cao Dai appeared, and in the 1930s the Hoa Hao neo-Buddhist
sect spread through parts of the Mekong delta.
Roman Catholicism was introduced into Vietnam in the 16th century and
spread rapidly following the French conquest in the mid-19th century. The
heaviest concentrations of Roman Catholics in Vietnam once were in the
north, but many fled to the south after the partition of the country in
1954.
Protestantism came to Vietnam in 1911 and spread mainly among small
segments of the urban population in the central and southern regions.
In 1954 all foreign Roman Catholic clergy were expelled from North
Vietnam, leaving only native priests. The North Vietnamese government
tried to supplant organized religion with its own patriotic Buddhist, Cao
Dai,
Catholic, and Protestant religious organizations; Catholic clergy and
membership renounced their allegiance to Rome. With the conquest of
South Vietnam by North Vietnam, all foreign Christian clergy were
expelled. The country's current constitution has guaranteed freedom of
religion, though in practice government controls have been relaxed only
gradually.
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