Chuck Kuhn's Asia in Photos: Vietnam's Trade Goals Open Door for Religion

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Vietnam's Trade Goals Open Door for Religion - WSJ.com

TAY NINH, Vietnam -- Vietnam's Communist leaders, partly in an effort to boost trade with the U.S., are loosening state constraints on religious freedom. That is helping revive a once-fading religion that reveres Joan of Arc, Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen and French author Victor Hugo as saints.
The white-robed followers of Caodai, or the Supreme Being, have been coming to Tay Ninh to practice their fusion of Buddhist and Roman Catholic beliefs since the 1920s. The local founders of the faith hoped to pick the best of East and West to create a new global religion. After Communist northern Vietnam defeated the U.S.-backed South in 1975, Vietnam's new rulers in Hanoi suppressed the Caodaists; those remaining retreated underground or survived in pockets of Vietnamese emigrés around the world.
In recent years, Vietnam has started allowing greater expression of religious belief because it wants to help defuse tensions over the issue with the U.S. Vietnam is trying to foster the U.S. as a major trading partner as it transforms its centrally planned economy into a free-trading one dependent on exports and foreign investment.
more info->Vietnam's Trade Goals Open Door for Religion - WSJ.com

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They say "

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam - that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain. Nothing like the filthy rain in London. They say whatever you’re looking for, you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that’s the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there’s a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war; that the gunshots were fireworks; that only pleasure matters. A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you. And then, something happens, as you knew it would. And nothing can ever be the same again.”
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

Tips on Travel to Vietnam

It's always warm in Southeast Asia apart from high mountains, so leave the heavy clothing at home. Cotton and breathable fabrics are always better than synthetics -- although cotton does wrinkle a lot when traveling! December through April is roughly the dry season in that region, although it can still rain a little. December is a good time to go in terms of temperature -- cooler than in the humid summertime. Either way, wearing more clothing (shirt sleeves and long pants) is always more respectful towards the Asian culture, especially when visiting temples and rural areas.