Tools of Empire? Vietnamese Catholics in South Vietnam

Abstract

This article examines the social and political activities of Vietnamese Roman Catholics in South Vietnam in the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Catholics’ participation in the public sphere, ranging from joining humanitarian organizations to organizing street protests, suggests that they were highly organized and proactive in trying to change their social and political environment. While Catholics held some political views and goals in common with the South Vietnamese and the United States governments, they pursued their own objectives, engaged in local and national politics, critiqued government policy, and maintained an important degree of independence from state power and influence.Cet article porte sur les activités politiques et sociales des catholiques romains vietnamiens dans le sud du Vietnam au cours de la période allant des années 1950 aux années 1970. Leur présence dans la sphère publique, que ce soit au sein d’organismes humanitaires ou par l’organisation de protestations dans la rue, laisse supposer qu’ils étaient très organisés et proactifs dans leurs efforts de réforme du milieu social et politique. Ces catholiques partageaient certes des opinions et des ambitions politiques avec les gouvernements sud-vietnamien et américain, mais ils s’intéressaient en fait à leurs propres objectifs, participaient à la politique locale et nationale, critiquaient les politiques gouvernementales et conservaient une indépendance certaine par rapport à l’influence de l’État

Faith-based organizations' support for older adults in Vietnam: A comparison of Catholic and Buddhist efforts

“…Whereas both religions participated in philanthropy activities as a way to practice their religious belief and at the same time engage and develop community (Biggs & Carr, 2016), the ways they approach and deploy philanthropy activities in Vietnam are different. Nguyen-Marshall (2009) documents that Vietnamese Catholic FBOs' activities were highly organized and active, and their philanthropy did not aim at increasing the number of followers. However, Vietnamese Catholics were actively involved in politics during the Vietnam War.…”

“…Toward this political goal, they strongly supported anti-communist movements and forging strategic alliances with South Vietnam, foreign governments, and NGOs. Hence, their religion-based philanthropy was partly aimed at serving the war against the communist party as a civil responsibility (Nguyen-Marshall, 2009).…”

“…Even within the system of Buddhist associations, there was a lack of consistency and collaboration in conducting philanthropic work. The socio-political position of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association has been to give prominence and conforms to the guidelines and leadership of the Vietnamese government and the Communist Party (Nguyen-Marshall, 2009).…”

“…By identifying religion as a "vấn đề", the national government exercises a cautious approach toward religion and by association FBOs. Researchers show that this cautious approach partly comes from the complicated relationship between religion and politics in Vietnam since the French colonial period (Nguyen-Marshall, 2009, Nguyen Thi Phuong 2020, and partly because the government sought to protect national unity and strengthened the Communist Party's authority (Reese & Glendon, 2016).…”

“…Recently, the government has implemented a strategy referred to as "universalization" (xa hoi hoa), which promotes the participation of non-government organizations, including FBOs, in social service provision (ISEE, 2015;Khuat & Hasan, 2006;Nguyen-Marshall, 2009). Since then, this universalization strategy has been translated into several governments following Decrees and Decisions.…”