From the President: Religious Freedom and Reconciliation

By Dr. Chris Seiple on 06 September 2005

Whether we like it or not, we recognize religious freedom as a permanent U.S. national interest."
-- Senior Vietnamese Official

Vietnam is not an easy place to be a believer. Last month a 500-person church in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was shut down. Believers, especially those in local churches in remote areas, are often harassed. It was with good reason that the U.S. government, in September 2004, declared Vietnam to be a "country of a particular concern" regarding religious freedom, grouping Vietnam with such international pariahs as North Korea and Cuba.

Yet Vietnam is also a place in transition. This month, the government released from prison Pastor Quang, an outspoken Mennonite pastor who had long been illegally jailed. In some provinces, the local Communist party is now working with evangelical Christians to enable the training of pastors. And at the national level, three sets of governmental ordinances have been promulgated in the last year to make religious freedom uniform throughout the country. While the effects of these guidelines are only now trickling down to the local level in the form of training classes, the guidelines are significant in the new direction that Hanoi is signaling to its local officials.

Why this emerging change? Two reasons, both part and parcel of the human condition. First, there are good people in the Vietnamese government, patriots and leaders who want Vietnam to be a responsible member of the international community. They are proud men and women who want to provide the very best for the great people they represent.

Second, it is in the self-interest of the Vietnamese government to respect religious freedom. To begin with, Vietnam needs the United States. As China's political and economic power surges, Vietnam needs a friend that can balance China, its historic enemy, who has often occupied Vietnam and invaded as recently as 1979. (The very name "Viet Nam" indicates the Vietnamese men south of China who are free.) If the United States makes religious freedom a paramount issue, then Vietnam must find a way to accommodate this priority.

America is not only a potential geopolitical ally, but an economic one as well. Vietnam needs to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO membership lowers tariffs and creates jobs, thereby helping to maintain stability by providing employment for Vietnam's youthful population (the majority has been born since the 1975 fall of Saigon). With U.S. support, Vietnam can more quickly join the WTO. This process begins with the establishment of normal trade relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, something the Congress will consider this fall.

Finally, Vietnamese leaders now recognize that people of faith possess a strong morality, something that mitigates the corruption that comes with capitalism. People of faith respect the laws and regulations of government, contributing to economic prosperity and social stability.

But here's the catch: there has been no established mechanism between the U.S. and Vietnam to regularly discuss human rights and religious freedom in a manner that includes both government and non-government officials from both sides.

The Institute for Global Engagement has responded by building relationships in Vietnam for the past four years. We have cultivated relations according to one mantra: first understand, then engage. This approach has registered with the Vietnamese. As one experienced official told me: "You are the first Americans who did not first give me a list and tell me what to do." Over time we have come to understand their legitimate national security concerns. And they have understood that foreigners, even foreign Christians, could love and care for their people; and that religious freedom might be, after all, in the best interest of Vietnam. Only after reaching this point of mutual respect did we seek to visit Vietnam. As a result, IGE has visited Vietnam twice in the past year.

During the most recent visit, the Institute worked closely with U.S. and Vietnamese government officials to seek their input on and implicit approval for the creation of a dialogue mechanism. As a result, on 1 July 2005, the Institute signed an unprecedented agreement with the Vietnam-USA Society (VUS) to establish an ongoing mechanism for practical discussion about human rights and religious freedom. (VUS is officially a nongovernmental organization, but with close connections to the government.) The initial framework for this people-to-people diplomacy calls for three steps, all of which are being planned now.

First, the Institute for Global Engagement will host a delegation of Vietnamese officials to the United States from 18-25 October 2005. The purpose of this visit is to establish a forum through which a candid discussion can take place about human rights, in the context of bilateral relations. Accordingly, the delegation, along with invited experts, will participate in a one-day, off-the-record conversation about religious freedom and rule of law in Vietnam. We will also arrange for off-the-record meetings with Capitol Hill leaders, the National Security Council, the State Department, the Defense Department, U.S. business leaders, and religious leaders.

Second, the Institute will take a delegation of American Christian leaders to Vietnam from 1-8 December 2005. We will meet with officials in Hanoi as well as visit key provinces to better understand how the religious freedom ordinances are being implemented at the local level.

Third, along with the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute for Research on Religion, we will co-sponsor the first-ever Southeast Asia conference on religion and rule-of-law. This conference will take place in September of 2006 in Hanoi, providing a venue for the nations of Southeast Asia to discuss for themselves what religious freedom "looks like" in their regional context.

This vision will not be easy. There still remains obvious tension between the U.S. and Vietnam, especially on the issue of religion. And there are those on both sides — defined more by what they are against than what they are for — who would rather see this idea fail. But there is too much in common between the Americans and the Vietnamese to not seize this unprecedented opportunity.

Especially for those of us who are Christians, we are called to be bridge-builders, practical ambassadors of reconciliation. This calling is not a question of debate but of obedience. Obedient bridge-building requires a long-term commitment, as well as principled flexibility if circumstances change, as they often do in complex international affairs. In short, bridge-building is messy stuff that takes time, and money.

We at the Institute for Global Engagement ask you to consider partnering with us in this ministry of religious freedom and reconciliation. The first means of partnership is to actively pray over this unique initiative. Prayer is the most important thing you can do to help Americans and Vietnamese, Christians and non-Christians, negotiate difficult issues and confront forces that don’t want reconciliation.

You can also partner with us by coming alongside this work financially. In so doing, you literally become a shareholder in this bridge-building business, enabling true people-to-people diplomacy. If we are to overcome those fringe forces that would prevent reconciliation, we must build out the "radical middle" together. We need you in this work and it is our prayer that you will join us.

On behalf of the IGE team and our Vietnamese friends,

Chris

Last updated 15 September 2008