Ensuring freedom of belief and religion is a consistent policy and is guaranteed to be implemented in practice in Vietnam. The World and Vietnam Newspaper introduces the perceptions of religious practices in Vietnam by international pastors and volunteers of religious organizations present in Vietnam.
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| Pastor Bob Roberts, President of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE), USA, Head of the International Evangelical Pastors Association. (Photo: Thu Trang) |
Positive experiences in Vietnam
The first person we met was Pastor Bob Roberts, President of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) from the US, one of 12 pastors from the international pastoral delegation on a visit to learn about policies and laws related to religion in Vietnam from December 1-6, 2024.
This is an annual exchange activity between IGE and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and is also a meeting of the International Protestant Pastors Group from many countries around the world, held annually in different countries to exchange information related to the activities of churches, share experiences and skills related to the management and operation of churches; as well as learn more about the culture, country, people, and religious activities of the host country.
During their stay in Vietnam, the delegation had working sessions with representatives of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs; visited the Aquila Protestant group (Quoc Oai, Hanoi) and the International Evangelical Church (HIF). Hearing and witnessing the actual development situation of Vietnam after 40 years of renovation, witnessing the development achievements of Vietnam, the international pastoral delegation had more authentic and objective information about the religious situation and the guarantee of religious freedom in Vietnam.
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| International Protestant pastors visit Aquila Protestant meeting point in Quoc Oai, Hanoi. (Source: Thoi Dai) |
Pastor Bob Roberts, President of the IGE Institute, has been in Vietnam since 1995 and is currently the leader of two organizations operating in Vietnam: Global Ventures, a work-based people-connecting organization, and IGE, which has been operating in Vietnam since 2004.
He always shows his love and understanding for Vietnam through sharing: Every time I visit churches in Vietnam, it is always a positive experience for me. The church in Vietnam is very vibrant, growing and achieving many wonderful achievements. We hear about churches in Vietnam from all over the world. And when I visit churches in Vietnam, I am very impressed because they understand the Bible, believe in the Bible, live by the Bible and have a solid foundation in the Bible.
“We want to connect with the global Christian community. So we brought together many religious leaders from India, Indonesia, Australia and many other countries to connect with the church in Vietnam, to hear and witness the teachings of God here, about the churches and related ministries. We also want to take this opportunity to bring international pastors to come and see the development of Vietnam. Vietnam is really a great country. When I came here 30 years ago, there were only bicycles and a few motorbikes, but now there are cars, a lot of motorbikes and no more bicycles. So I want them to come here to see this country, see the development and meet the Christian community in Vietnam,” said Pastor Bob Roberts.
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| On December 4, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) received a delegation of 14 people, including 12 international Protestant pastors, their relatives and two officials from the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE), USA. (Photo: An Le) |
Recalling the friendly meeting between IGE and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations in New York, USA on September 22, 2024, in his role as Chairman of IGE, Pastor Bob Roberts stated: “No country has made more progress than Vietnam in the field of religious freedom. I work all over the world in this field, so this is not just a superficial statement. From the laws that Vietnam has passed and implemented, to ensure that all people have equal rights and resolve issues according to the process...”
Objective and genuine assessments based on what they saw and heard, and their sympathy for the country, its people, the freedom to practice religion, to practice faith in churches, congregations... from urban to rural areas in Vietnam, have made pastors who have set foot in many countries understand and believe in the development of Vietnam, as Pastor Jossy Chacko from Australia said: “I believe that Vietnam is a rare, beautiful and carefully preserved gem in the world. This country is like a beautiful flower, always opening and showing off the beauty of its people. And we cannot help but be surprised and happy about the economic and social progress that Vietnam has achieved and is achieving.”
We also met young volunteers from the US, young volunteers who are US citizens, Vietnamese students studying in the US, all with the same desire to contribute to the development of friendship between Vietnam and the US, wishing that more religious followers who come to churches in the US will understand more about Vietnam. Rhett Petersen is one of those volunteers, saying that he is trying to learn Vietnamese and that during his time in Vietnam, he has understood many things better and, importantly, he still feels as familiar as in the US when he still goes to church for religious activities, there is no difference.
Freedom of belief and religion is an issue we must all strive for.
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| President of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) Bob Roberts, Head of the International Evangelical Pastors Group, talks with reporters from The Gioi Va Viet Nam Newspaper. (Photo: Thu Trang) |
Pastor Bob Roberts: In terms of how the Vietnamese government is doing in the area of religion, I would say they are doing very well. Since 2001, there have been many laws enacted to promote religious freedom, to protect churches and religious organizations, not only Christianity but also other religions such as Buddhism.
What I feel is that the Vietnamese government is ready to face the challenges and is ready to address them. Religious freedom is an issue that we all have to work on. Even in the United States, we have to deal with Islamophobia or anti-Semitism. So there are challenges everywhere.
I think the most important thing is that when those issues arise, we need to respond quickly. Vietnam has done that very well. And I have also done my best in the United States to share with our government and our State Department the changes that Vietnam has made. Many American diplomats who work on religious freedom recognize that Vietnam has made great strides, unlike many other countries, to address those challenges.
Every time I visit churches in Vietnam, it is always a positive experience for me. The church in Vietnam is vibrant, growing, and achieving great things. We hear about churches in Vietnam from all over the world. And when I visit churches in Vietnam, I am impressed by how well they understand the Bible, believe in the Bible, live by the Bible, and have a solid foundation in the Bible.
I was impressed to see that they wanted to join the religious community and become good citizens, contributing to the prosperity of Vietnam. The Protestant and Catholic churches in Vietnam are both active. I had the opportunity to meet the Pope many times and once we had a long conversation about Vietnam because this is a country with a lot of Catholics (more than 7 million followers - PV). And I encouraged him: "You need to visit Vietnam because the Church there is very developed and vibrant".
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| Pastor Jossy Chacko, a representative of the international Protestant pastors group, was interviewed by The Gioi and Viet Nam Newspaper. (Photo: Thu Trang) |
Pastor Jossy Chacko (Melbourne, Australia): I think Vietnam has made significant progress and I am once again amazed at the openness, the willingness to dialogue and the level of construction and modernity that Vietnam is achieving in this area. And when I talk to Christians in Vietnam, they are very optimistic and excited about the future of Vietnam, especially in the area of religion.
Promoting religious dialogue and promoting peace
Pastor Bob Roberts: We signed the third MOU last year, and one of the things we wanted to do was not only about religious freedom but also about religious responsibility. And how can we work together? What we're looking to do is do community projects.
For example, we visited church rehabilitation centers that help addicts. How can we help these organizations? And how can organizations cooperate with the government? How can we work together, church and government, to build citizens? We also want to have exchanges between pastors, churches and government leaders. We want to have more exchanges between the Vietnamese and American people.
We went to the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and we discussed having an exchange and inviting 100 pastors to teach about political philosophy and how Vietnam views life. Then they could come to America and invite 100 scholars to teach about Christianity and how we live. So one of our dreams for the future is how to organize people-to-people exchanges as our relationship reaches new depths.
It is a place where we can learn together and take what we learn in Vietnam to the world. It is wonderful.
Pastor Jossy Chacko: I think the world needs to see the openness of Vietnam. Many people still think that Vietnam is stuck in the past. I think the world doesn't really understand where Vietnam is and where you are.
I would definitely encourage people to come and see what modern Vietnam is like. The international community still has certain prejudices about Vietnam that need to be eliminated and changed. I would encourage the Vietnamese government to focus more on communicating to the world about your achievements and goals, and for the international community to broaden their understanding of the freedom and beauty of this Vietnam.
Mr. Rob Howell, President of the Hanoi Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: I have only been in Vietnam for about 5 months, but I am very impressed with the support we receive to carry out activities to help people live happier lives, understand more about Jesus Christ and God. We feel that we are all one family on this planet and need to treat each other with love and kindness.
We now have 11 branches of the Church in Vietnam, and the number of believers is increasing. With the support and permission from the Government, we feel very honored and grateful.
| “When I speak at conferences around the world, I tell them the story of Vietnam. I try to invite Vietnamese diplomats to tell the story. I want Vietnamese pastors to come because they will talk about the changes they have made.” (Pastor Bob Roberts, President of IGE, USA). |
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ton-giao-bac-nhip-cau-huu-nghi-306470.html
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