Protestantism in Vietnam

Protestants in Vietnam are a small religious minority constituting from 0.5 to 2 % of the population [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71363.htm US State Department 2006 country report on Vietnam] ] or around one million people (or 1%) as the newest census of Government (2006) [ [http://www.vietnamembassy.us/news/story.php?d=20070202130018 Religion in Vietnam 2006] ] [ [http://www.vietnamembassy.us/docs/Vietnam%20White%20Paper%20on%20Religion.pdf Vietnam Affirms Consistent Policy on Religion: White Paper] ] . However, it is the country's fastest-growing religion, growing at a rate of 600% in the last decade.cite web |author=| title =Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 - Vietnam | work = U.S. Department of State| date = 2005-06-30| url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=437c9cdd2&count=0| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ]

Origin

Protestantism was introduced in 1911 at Da Nang by a Canadian missionary named Dr. R.A. Jaffray. As part of the Christian Missionary Alliance, over 100 missionaries were sent to Vietnam, assisting the faith's growth in the country. The first Protestant organization recognized by the government was the Evangelical Church of Vietnam: North in 1963.cite web |author=| title =Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 - Vietnam | work = U.S. Department of State| date = 2005-06-30| url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=437c9cdd2&count=0| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ]

By 1967 information, Protestant communities were represented mainly within South Vietnam. Those communities included the French Reformed Church, Anglican-Episcopalian, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Baptists, Church of Christ, Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, and Seventh-day Adventists. Other Protestant associations were also represented in some social services and welfare agencies. In 1967 there were 150,000 Protestant adherents in South Vietnam, representing about 1% of the total population [ [http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/rsv/rsv11.htm Protestantism in South Vietnam, US Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Chaplains Division, 1967] ] .

Several Protestant church properties were confiscated during the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975, including the seminaries in Nha Trang and Hanoi. Hundreds of Protestant churches were also destroyed in this period.cite web |author = Compass Direct| title =Vietnam Protestants Call Conference 'Miraculous' | work = Christianity Today| date = 2002-09-20| url = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/107/36.0.html| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ]

All Protestant denominations in Vietnam were gathered by local communist government into a single organization called the Evangelical Church of Vietnam in 1975, which had around 500,000 official members in 1997. However , in 1988, a house church movement began when some active pastors were expelled from the official churches. One of the most prominent from those pastors was Tran Dinh Ai, whose movement reached 16,000 members and 165 churches (by 1997). [ [http://www.fva.org/0297/pastors.htm FVA News] ]

Bible societies in Vietnam

Protestants made several Bible translations in 1926 and 1991, and translated separate books of Old Testament and New Testament into Vietnamese. [ [http://www.vnbaptist.net/Tai_Lieu/History_of_VN_bible.htm History of the Vietnamese Bible] ]

The organized work of United Bible Societies in Vietnam began in 1890. In 1966 the Vietnamese Bible Society was established. The Bible societies distributed 53,170 Bible examples and 120,170 New Testament examples in Vietnamese within the country in 2005. [ [http://www.biblesociety.org/bs-vnm.htm Bible Society work in Vietnam] ] Two years earlier, in 2003, 60,000 copies of Bible and 50,000 copies of New Testament (all in Vietnamese) were printed in Vietnam with the permission of local authorities. Same year, 10,000 copies of the Chinese language Bible were printed in Vietnam for the local Chinese community. 7,555 copies of them were sold in a few months. [ [http://ubs-ao.org/VietnamAnnRep.dsp United Bible Societies, Asia Pacific - Laos & Vietnam] ]

Present time

Currently, more than half of the Protestants are part of evangelical house churches.cite web | title =Vietnam | work = US State Department| date = 2002-09-07| url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13916.htm| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] Growth of the faith has been most dramatic among ethnic minority peoples (Montagnards) such as the Mnong, Ede, Jarai, and Bahnar.cite web |author = Compass Direct| title =Vietnam Protestants Call Conference 'Miraculous' | work = Christianity Today| date = 2002-09-20| url = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/107/36.0.html| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] Pressure has reportedly put on Protestants in several northwestern villages to recant their faith in 2005, though there are fewer reports than in years past.cite web |author=| title =Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 - Vietnam | work = U.S. Department of State| date = 2005-06-30| url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=437c9cdd2&count=0| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] Unsanctioned church meetings are routinely broken up and its members detained and harassed. In April 2001, the government gave official recognition to the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam.cite web | title =Vietnam | work = US State Department| date = 2002-09-07| url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13916.htm| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] In 2005, hundreds of house churches that had been ordered to shut down in 2001, were quietly allowed to reopen.cite web |author=| title =Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 - Vietnam | work = U.S. Department of State| date = 2005-06-30| url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=437c9cdd2&count=0| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] Over 100 refugees fled to Cambodia in the wake of a crackdown over large protests against land confiscation and a lack of religious freedom. [cite web |author=| title =Minorities fleeing Vietnam to Cambodia | work = BBC| date = 2001-05-04| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1312730.stm| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] In 2001, a historic Protestant church built in 1936 which was being petitioned for return to the local Christian community, was demolished. [cite web |author=Name Hidden| title =Vietnam's Hidden Tragedy | work = Christianity Today| date = 2002-09-09| url = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/010/4.62.html| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] At least 54 people remain imprisoned due to their faith, including some Protestants. [cite web |author=| title =RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN VIETNAM | work = Voice of America| date = 2004-09-27| url = http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/archive/2004-09/a-2004-09-27-5-1.cfm| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] The New Life Fellowship, which has been seeking official recognition for eight years, was denied access in 2005 from meeting in Ho Chi Minh City. [cite web |author=| title =Vietnam bans Protestant Group | work = ABC Radio Australia| date = 2005-09-09| url = http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1457325.htm| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] A Protestant pastor was forced to spend 12 months in psychiatric hospital on the disputed reason that he is delusional. [cite web |author=| title =Vietnam releases protestant pastor from hospital | work = ABC Radio Australia| date = 2005-09-19| url = http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1463217.htm| accessdate = 2006-07-21 ] In March, 2007, a member of the main Hanoi congregation of the legally-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) Nguyen Van Dai was arrested for accusations relating to his defense of religious freedom, including disseminating alleged "infractions" of religious liberty. [cite web |author=| title =Encourage the Wife of Imprisoned Vietnamese Lawyer | work = Persecution blog | date = 2007-04-25| url = http://www.persecutionblog.com/2007/04/encourage_the_w.html| accessdate = 2006-04-27 ]

Baptist and Mennonite movements were officially recognized by Hanoi in October, 2007, which was estimated as some improvement of religious freedom in the country [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=10466&size=A Hanoi officially recognises Baptists and Mennonites, AsiaNews] ] . By words of the Baptist Church Pastor Nguyen Thong, since 1989 his Church has attracted more than 18,400 followers with 500 ministers, practising in 135 congregations in 23 cities and provinces around the country [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=10466&size=A Hanoi officially recognises Baptists and Mennonites, AsiaNews] ] .

Meanwhile, a film was made in 2007 about the Vietnamese underground churches and their continuing persecution from local authorities. [ [http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsID=526 The Voice of the Martyrs News] ] A young Hroi (ethnic minority) man who refused to reject his Christian faith reportedly died from injuries received under official interrogation in April 2007. [ [http://www.christianpersecution.info/news/vietnam-christian-dies-after-torture-for-refusing-to-recant-faith-reports/ BosNewsLife News Center] ]

By the 2008 estimates of Release International, many Christians from Vietnam’s tribal highlands are still regarded as enemies and targeted as "agents of America". They are reportedly beaten, tortured and starved behind bars, despite the official claims and guarantees for freedom of religion [ [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/vietnam.war.rumbles.on.christians.branded.the.enemy/17594.htm Christian Today Magazine] ] .

References

See also

*Christianity in Vietnam
*Mennonite Church in Vietnam
*Assemblies of God in Vietnam

External links

* [http://www.persecution.org/suffering/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=5 "Report on Vietnam" by International Christian Concern]
* [http://www.vnbaptist.net/Tai_Lieu/History_of_VN_bible.htm The History of Vietnamese Bible Translation]
* [http://www.tinlanh.org/ Vietnamese Christian Broadcast]
* [http://hyvong.tinlanh.org.au Vietnamese Christian Broadcast from Australia]
* [http://www.vnbaptist.net/ Vietnamese Baptist]
* [http://www.vietlutheran.org/ Vietnamese Lutheran]
* [http://www.vietchristian.com/ VietChristian]
* [http://www.ethnicharvest.org/bibles/vietnamese.htm Bible in Vietnamese]
* [http://www.tinlanh.org.au Vietnamese Evangelical Church in Australia]
* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/may/24.26.html A New Day in Vietnam, Christianity Today Magazine]
* [http://nvbible.net/ The New Vietnamese Bible]