Who Decides Which Religions Are Dangerous?

Introduction

In modern Vietnam, questions about whether a religious movement is merely unusual, genuinely exploitative, or a threat to public order are closely tied to the state’s system of religious regulation. Campaigns against so-called “strange religions” have combined legitimate concerns about fraud, coercion and social disruption with broader political goals of maintaining state control over organised religion. The result is a continuing debate in which officials emphasise security, social unity and protection against deception, while human rights organisations, religious freedom advocates and many scholars argue that broad definitions of dangerous religion can also justify surveillance, restrictions and discrimination against peaceful religious communities. Understanding this tension is essential for interpreting Vietnam’s modern religious landscape.

Who decides which religions are dangerous?

Vietnam’s constitution recognises freedom of belief and religion, but it also gives the state extensive authority to regulate religious activity. Under the 2018 Law on Belief and Religion, religious organisations are expected to register, disclose their leadership and activities, and operate within a legal framework overseen by state authorities. Groups that remain outside this system often face greater scrutiny, especially if officials believe they challenge social order or national unity.[U.S. Department of State]2021-2025.state.govU.S. Department of State VietnamU.S. Department of StateVietnam - United States Department of State…

Official documents frequently distinguish between recognised religions and organisations described as exploiting religion for unlawful purposes. Vietnamese authorities also use labels that are often translated into English as “evil-way religion”, “heretical religion”, or “strange religion”. These categories are not simply theological judgements. They are typically linked to allegations that a movement deceives followers, disrupts family life, encourages people to reject state authority, or threatens ethnic solidarity.

Because these definitions are broad, critics argue that they leave considerable room for interpretation by provincial officials. The same movement may be tolerated in one locality while facing police intervention in another, creating uneven enforcement across the country.[USCIRF]uscirf.govVietnam Country Update | USCIRFVietnam Country Update | USCIRF…

Where fraud concerns end and moral panic begins

Not every warning about an unconventional religious movement is unfounded. Vietnam, like many countries, has experienced fraudulent spiritual healers, groups demanding large financial contributions, and organisations making extravagant supernatural promises. Governments have a legitimate interest in investigating financial crime, abuse, coercion or violence regardless of whether those acts occur within religious organisations.

The difficulty arises when unusual beliefs themselves become treated as evidence of danger. Scholars of moral panic note that societies often react strongly to unfamiliar religious movements during periods of political uncertainty, rapid economic change or social anxiety. In these circumstances, suspicion may spread more quickly than carefully documented evidence.

Vietnam illustrates this problem. State media have periodically warned about movements accused of manipulating followers, dividing communities or encouraging resistance to government authority. Some cases involve documented fraud or coercion, while others concern groups whose principal difference from recognised religions is their refusal to join state-approved structures. Human rights researchers therefore caution against assuming that every officially condemned movement presents the same level of public risk.[state.gov]2021-2025.state.govU.S. Department of State VietnamU.S. Department of StateVietnam - United States Department of State…

Rather than representing a single phenomenon, these campaigns bring together several distinct issues:

Treating these very different situations as one category can make it difficult for outsiders to distinguish genuine public protection from broader campaigns of ideological control.

Surveillance, ethnicity and religious minorities

The sharpest controversies occur among religious communities that overlap with ethnic minority populations.

Independent Protestant churches among Hmong and Montagnard communities, independent Buddhist groups, some Hoa Hao and Cao Dai organisations outside officially recognised structures, and other local religious networks have repeatedly reported monitoring, disrupted meetings, pressure to register, or encouragement to join state-approved organisations instead. International monitoring bodies argue that these measures fall most heavily on communities already viewed through a security lens because of historical conflicts or concerns about separatism.[USCIRF]uscirf.govReligious Freedom Conditions in Vietnam | USCIRFReligious Freedom Conditions in Vietnam | USCIRF…

Government officials, however, generally reject the claim that peaceful belief is being targeted. Their position is that enforcement is directed at organisations that allegedly misuse religion to undermine national unity, spread false information, exploit believers or threaten public order. This difference in interpretation lies at the centre of ongoing international disagreements over Vietnam’s religious freedom record.[U.S. Department of State]2021-2025.state.govU.S. Department of State VietnamU.S. Department of StateVietnam - United States Department of State…

The overlap between ethnicity, religion and security means that actions which officials describe as law enforcement are sometimes interpreted by outside observers as restrictions on minority religious expression.

State-controlled religion versus independent religion

A distinctive feature of Vietnam’s religious policy is the role of officially recognised religious organisations.

Recent analyses by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom argue that the Communist Party seeks not only to regulate religion but also to encourage participation through state-recognised institutions whose leadership and activities remain closely supervised. According to this analysis, authorities employ strategies including registration, incorporation into recognised structures and pressure on independent congregations to join approved organisations.[USCIRF]uscirf.govState-Controlled Religion and Religious Freedom in Vietnam | USCIRFState-Controlled Religion and Religious Freedom in Vietnam | USCIRF…

Vietnamese authorities present the same system differently. From their perspective, recognised organisations provide transparency, legal accountability and protection against fraudulent or politically motivated groups operating under religious cover.

This disagreement illustrates why terms such as “dangerous religion” remain contested. The dispute is not only about individual movements but also about who has the authority to define legitimate religion in the first place.

Why the language of “strange religion” matters

Words such as “cult”, “evil religion” or “strange religion” carry strong emotional weight. Once applied, they can influence public attitudes long before evidence of wrongdoing is examined.

Historians of religion and sociologists therefore encourage separating several questions that are often merged together:

Keeping these distinctions clear helps avoid turning unfamiliar belief into automatic suspicion while still allowing genuine exploitation to be investigated.

Why this debate remains important

Vietnam’s experience demonstrates that religious scares are rarely only about religion. They also involve governance, national identity, ethnic politics and competing ideas about social stability.

Supporters of the current regulatory model argue that strong oversight prevents exploitation, protects vulnerable people and limits movements that could inflame ethnic or political tensions. Critics counter that vague definitions of dangerous religion can blur the boundary between preventing genuine abuse and suppressing peaceful religious diversity.[gov.uk]GOV.UKCountry policy and information note: ethnic and religious groups, Vietnam, December 2024 (accessible version) - GOV.UK…Published: february 2022

For historians of collective fear and moral panic, Vietnam offers an important case study because the central question is not whether unusual religious movements exist—they clearly do—but how governments, media and society decide which ones deserve concern. That decision shapes not only public perceptions of “strange religion” but also the practical limits of religious freedom.

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Endnotes

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Title: U.S. Department of State Vietnam
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Published: february 2022

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Title: State-Controlled Religion and Religious Freedom in Vietnam | USCIRF
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Additional References

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