Baháʼí Faith in Vietnam

The 1950s and 1960s were marked by periods of rapid growth, mainly in South Vietnam; despite the ongoing war affecting the country, the Baháʼí population surged to around 200,000 adherents by 1975.

After the end of the war, Vietnam was reunified under a communist government, who proscribed the practice of the religion from 1975 to 1992, leading to a sharp drop in community numbers.

Relations with the government gradually improved, however, and in 2007 the Baháʼí Faith was officially registered, followed by its full legal recognition a year later.

[1] The specific tablet in question was written on 11 April 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919, after the end of World War I and the Spanish flu.

[5] "The moment this divine Message is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of America and is propagated through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion..., if some teachers go to other islands and other parts, such as the continent of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, also to Japan, Asiatic Russia, Korea, French Indochina, Siam, Straits Settlements, India, Ceylon and Afghanistan, most great results will be forthcoming.

During her stay, she promoted the message and principles of the religion to a number of newspapers, making friends with one Madame Boeuf, editor of an English section in "L'Information de l'Extrême Orient".

[13] Following nearly a decade of war between colonial France and the communist Viet Minh, which ended in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, both sides met at the Geneva Conference on 21 July 1954.

In February 1954, Shirin Fozdar, a Baháʼí from India who had been a member of the National Spiritual Assembly there, went to Saigon to establish the religion in Indochina.

[2][15] On 15 March, she gave a public introduction to the Baha'i Faith in a lecture at the Norodom theatre, which was given significant coverage in the Vietnamese press.

From 1957 to 1963 the Baháʼí community in South Vietnam had more than tripled (including among the Koho, Thổ, Annamese, and Cham peoples) and several schools were established.

[33] Although the Baháʼí community held a generally positive relationship with the government of Ngô Đình Diệm, there is evidence of sporadic opposition at different levels during this period.

[27] On 21 April 1963, Bui Van Luong, then Diệm's Interior Minister, formally prohibited Baháʼís from pursuing "any religious activities in Central Vietnam and the mountainous provinces."

[42] In a 1978 report, the Universal House of Justice noted that "In the latter part of the period under review [1973-1976] circumstances beyond the control of the Baháʼís have hindered the completion of the goals.

[41]For a time, the incoming communist government seemed to tolerate Baháʼí activities; Baháʼís in the newly renamed Ho Chi Minh City (previously Saigon) were allowed to hold a commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb in July 1976, and following the setbacks of the previous years, a meeting was held the following year to elect a National Spiritual Assembly.

The Baháʼís who remained in Vietnam made appeals to the government requesting the permission to practice their religion and the return of confiscated properties, although progress was limited.

[43] In March 1986, a copy of the Universal House of Justice's statement, The Promise of World Peace, was delivered by a messenger to Mr. Bui Xuan Nhat, the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations.

Baháʼís in Ho Chi Minh City were allowed to hold a quiet ceremony in May 2004 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Baha'i Faith in the country.

[57][58] Finally, after many years of progress, the Baháʼí community was officially registered in early 2007, receiving a certificate of operation from the governmental Committee for Religious Affairs.

[2][3][61] With previous restrictions relaxed, the Vietnamese Baháʼí Community has continued to achieve marked progress, returning to a normal pace of activities and showing signs of growth in size, in freedom, and in institutional capacity.