Religion in Vietnam

Religion In Vietnam

Religion in Vietnam according to the 2010 survey of the Pew Research Center Washington, D.C. This does not correspond with official figures of atheism at 81%

Indigenous religions (45.3%) Buddhism (16.4%) Christianity (8.7%) Non-religious (29.6%)

Religion in Vietnam according to the 2009 census of the Vietnamese government, the CIA World Factbook, and various other sources.

Non-religious (81.69%) Buddhism (9.6%) Christianity (7.48%) Others (including indigenous beliefs) (1.23%)

Officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam today is an atheist state. Census results record 81% percent nonbelief (2004) although this may be inflated because of Vietnam's official status as an atheist nation, or that many reported as "non-believers" in formal religions still have some adherence to informal religious customs and practices such as ancestor worship.

The earliest established religions in Vietnam were Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism (called the three teachings or tam giáo). According to Pew Forum figures, most of the Vietnamese practice indigenous religions, worshiping local spirits, gods and mother goddesses (45.3%), as these religions have experienced a revival since the 1980s. Buddhism is the second-largest religion with 16.4% of the population adhering, around 8% of the Vietnamese are Christians (mostly Catholics), and around 30% are religiously unaffiliated. Roman Catholicism, Caodaism, and Hoa Hao are the largest religions after Buddhism. Smaller minorities of adherents to Hinduism, Islam and Protestantism exist.