President Ho Chi Minh's views on religion

Religious people have always been an inseparable part of the Vietnamese ethnic community. In 1952, in the Report at the 3rd Conference of the Party Central Committee, 2nd term, when referring to Religion, President Ho Chi Minh wrote:"Most religious people, especially the working class, love the country and fight for resistance.".

Currently, religions in Vietnam have built a path of practice closely linked to the nation. Religious organizations gather a large number of followers in the great national unity bloc, contributing to building a rich and beautiful homeland and country, such as:“Religion - Nation - Socialism”of Buddhism;“Living the gospel in the heart of the nation”Catholic;“Living the gospel to serve God, the Fatherland and the people”Protestant;"Glory to the country, bright religion"of Cao Dai religion;"For religion, for the nation"of Hoa Hao Buddhism...

Buddhists at Dai Tue Pagoda. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Belief, religious freedom and solidarity of religions

One day after reading the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945), President Ho Chi Minh pointed out one of the important and urgent tasks of the revolutionary government, which was:“Colonialists and feudalists implemented a policy of dividing Catholics and non-Catholics to make it easier to dominate. I propose that our Government declare: “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND RELIGIOUS UNITY”(Ho Chi Minh Complete Works, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi 2000, Volume 4, Page 9).

In the trend of increasingly deep international integration, the introduction of foreign religions along with endogenous religions has made our country's religious picture increasingly colorful, Vietnam has become a multi-religious country.

Therefore, more than ever, the task of religious unity and the task of inter-religious unity is posing to us an extremely difficult and complicated task. Because each religion has different principles, purposes, directions for practicing religion and developing followers, if the state management is not good, it will easily lead to the risk of disunity between religions, between religious and non-religious people.

Nghe An parishioners during a church service. Photo: Vinh Diocese

Building on similarities

Unlike communists around the world, President Ho Chi Minh had a very humane and progressive view on religion and the positive values ​​of religion for the nation's revolutionary cause. According to President Ho Chi Minh: "Jesus taught: Morality is charity/Buddha taught: Morality is compassion/Confucius taught: Morality is humanity and justice".

According to President Ho, the ethical values ​​of religion: charity, compassion, humanity... are very consistent with the ethics of the Vietnamese people's traditions from the past to the present. In particular, President Ho Chi Minh was also the one who pointed out the compatibility between religious doctrines and revolutionary doctrines.

“The doctrine of Confucius has its advantage in personal moral cultivation. The religion of Jesus has its advantage in great benevolence. Marxism has its advantage in dialectical working methods. Sun Yat-senism has its advantage, its policies are suitable to the conditions of our country. Don’t Confucius, Jesus, Marx, and Sun Yat-sen have these common advantages?

They all want to seek happiness for everyone, to seek welfare for society. If they were still alive today, if they were together, I believe they would definitely live together perfectly as close friends. I try to be their little student" -(On Religion, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi 1994, Volume 1, Pages 6-7).

The true religions in the world, if we ignore the illusory elements, also have good principles and purposes: Buddhism believes that to find the truth of happiness is to "destroy suffering" to liberate and attain Nirvana. In Christian ethics, love is considered the foundation, people must first love God and then love themselves. The Bible advises people to love their husbands and wives, parents, children, brothers, neighbors, community...

We need to have scientific awareness to accept the differences in order to have appropriate behavior towards religions: the path of human liberation of religion; religious worldview, philosophy of life; religious ethics...