Some Issues of Beliefs and Religions in Ethnic Minority Areas in Northern Vietnam

Abstract

The Northern mountainous region is one of the regions which have many ethnicities with their diverse cultures compared with the other regions of Vietnam. Moreover, apart from traditional beliefs practiced by overwhelming majority of residents, there is an increasing part of ethnic minority people in the Northern mountainous region who convert to the religions recognized by the Vietnamese State, notably to Catholics and Protestantism. Especially, many Hmong people in the provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, etc., still have believed in the “Duong Van Minh religion”-called illegal religious organization. This is an issue which needs both national and local levels, sectors to pay attention and reform policy and personnel organization in two systems of the management of ethnicities and religions so as to adapt to new situation.