Significance of Religion in the Contemporary Social Context of South Vietnam: A Case Study in the Cult Bà Chúa Xứ

Abstract

Currently, Vietnam is in its development process to be an industrial country. The industrialization and modernization have been boosted so that it will basically become such a country in 2020. The reality shows that this development process is accompanied by the resurgence of the religious activities, and one of them is the cult of Bà Chúa Xứ (Lady of the Realm/ Mother Goddess). Worship for Bà Chúa Xứ is now one popular religious belief in South Vietnam.

In the development context of contemporary Vietnam, the paper is to explore the significance of religion through the worship practices of Bà Chúa Xứ. The findings indicate that people are in search of religious beliefs so as to ensure their spiritual security due to the instability in the market economy and the health problems in Vietnam’s society. Once they realize that science is not a solution to problems arising in their contemporary life, they turn to religious practices that would provide them with an outlet, i.e. faith in certain solutions. This fact is the very reason for the existence and development of religious practices in social contexts.