Buddhism is the leading religion of the country, with 55% identifying as Buddhist. Confucianism and Taoism denote an ancient and profound Chinese influence. The first Portuguese missionaries arrived in Vietnam in the sixteenth century and today Catholics represent about 7% of the population.
The three main religions in Vietnam are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Sometimes, they are grouped together as one religion called the three teachings or tam giáo. According to many studies, 70-90% of Vietnamese people are tam giáo.
Gaining merit is the most common and essential practice in Vietnamese Buddhism with a belief that liberation takes place with the help of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Buddhist monks commonly chant sutras, recite Buddhas' names (particularly Amitābha), doing repentance, and praying for rebirth in the Pure Land.
There are two Muslim groups in Vietnam: Sunni Muslims and Bani Cham Muslims. The Bani branch is considered unorthodox because its practices are different from mainstream Islam and it is influenced by Cham folk beliefs.
Vietnam has the fifth largest Catholic population in Asia, after the Philippines, India, China and Indonesia. There are about 7 million Catholics in Vietnam, representing 7.0% of the total population. There are 27 dioceses (including three archdioceses) with 2,228 parishes and 2,668 priests.
As a communist country, Vietnam is officially an atheist state. Even so, most Vietnamese are not atheists, but believe in a combination of three religions: Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Added to these are the customs and practice of spirit worship and ancestor veneration.
It might come as a surprise, but Christmas celebrations are very common in Vietnam, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia. Inspired by Western culture, hotels and shopping malls are often decked out in festive decor in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.
Buddhism is the largest of the major world religions in Vietnam, with about ten million followers. It was the earliest foreign religion to be introduced in Vietnam, arriving from India in the second century A.D. in two ways, the Mahayana sect via China, and the Hinayana sect via Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
Although Thailand guarantees freedom of religion, and many religions are represented in the country, 95 percent of the population is Theravada Buddhist. Muslims compose about 4 percent of the population. There is also a small number of Christians in Thailand.
According to 2010 estimates, the vast majority of the Thai population (93.6%) identify as Buddhist. Public signs of reverence for the religion are evident throughout the culture. However, Buddhism is commonly thought of as 'a way of life' rather than a religion by many Thai.
When a Vietnamese person passes away, it is believed that one's life does not end but that the afterlife begins. The afterlife requires basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and money, all of which a family must provide for its deceased loved ones.
Buddhist monks and nuns fully abstain from eating meat and seafood, but some do consume dairy products such as milk and yogurt; they don't believe animals suffer during the production of these ingredients. Lay Buddhists adopt "temporary" vegetarianism on preassigned dates as a rite of abstinence or purification.
Chinese Buddhism and Folk Religions
China has the world's largest Buddhist population, with an estimated 185–250 million practitioners, according to Freedom House. Though Buddhism originated in India, it has a long history and tradition in China and today is the country's largest institutionalized religion.
Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god, although there are supernatural figures who can help or hinder people on the path towards enlightenment. Born on the Nepali side of the present day Nepal-India border, Siddhartha Gautama was a prince around the fifth century B.C.E.
The Japanese religious tradition is made up of several major components, including Shinto, Japan's earliest religion, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Christianity has been only a minor movement in Japan.
Vietnam is a socialist republic with a one-party system led by the Communist Party. The CPV espouses Marxism–Leninism and Hồ Chí Minh Thought, the ideologies of the late Hồ Chí Minh. The two ideologies serve as guidance for the activities of the party and state.
Buddhist cuisine is an Asian cuisine that is followed by monks and many believers from areas historically influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. It is vegetarian or vegan, and it is based on the Dharmic concept of ahimsa (non-violence).
Contemporary Taiwan is predominantly a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist, with 93% of the population identifying with these traditions. Only 4.5% identified as Christian.
Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism) and Buddhism are the dominant confessions among those who affiliate with a formal religion. Buddhism and Confucianism play an influential role in the lives of many South Korean people.
According to the MCR, approximately 93 percent of the population is Buddhist, 95 percent of whom practice Theravada Buddhism, with an estimated 4,400 monastic temples throughout the country. The remaining 7 percent of the population includes Christians, Muslims, animists, Baha'is, Jews, and Cao Dai adherents.
Islam entered Vietnam at different eras in peace, mainly via traders and immigrants. The Islamic faith has been present in the country since the 10th century, during the reign of the Champa Kingdom (now part of central Vietnam).
The Vietnamese Diet. The traditional Vietnamese diet is healthy. Meals emphasize rice, vegetables and fish, and cooking methods often involve steaming or stir-frying. Rice is the staple of the diet, consumed in some form in almost every meal.
The Lunar New Year, or Tết, is Vietnam's largest and most important festival. Emphasis is placed on family with many returning to their home town to celebrate. Yet Tết still offers plenty for travellers to enjoy throughout the country.
Vietnamese (Vietnamese: tiếng Việt, lit. 'Viet language') is an Austroasiatic language from Vietnam where it is the national and official language.