Posted on 11/03/2017 9:00:28 AM PDT by Perseverando
Whereas Buddhism was the Chinese colonial religion. :-)
Most VietNamese (in my experience) practiced Folk Religion.
It is derived from a blend of Confucianism and The Tao.
It tends to be animistic and have a lot of Ancestral worship
both of person (The Ancestors themselves) and place (the
village, or plot of farmland.)
It is also quite non-rigid and non-dogmatic.
It is not uncommon to enter a home and see a “family altar” display that
includes elements of Christianity, Cao Dai, a Buddha and pictures of the
aforementioned ancestors.
Depending on how a survey was worded, polling for sect might well yield
a total in excess of 100%.
Seeing a display of a Christian Cross or a statue of Buddha
in these settings does not make them a Catholic, Christian
or Buddhist.
So essentially I would agree with what you said.
By the way...
The aspect of VietNamese Folk Religion that holds an animistic attachment
to the land is one of the big reasons that our initial program of establishing
“strategic hamlets” did not sit well with the rural populace.
you are late to the ball.
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