Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:
State-Controlled Religion and Religious Freedom in Vietnam – The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) uses state-controlled religious organizations to control religious life and to intimidate and pressure independent religious communities into submission. A state-controlled religious organization is a religious group or institution that operates under the direct influence, supervision, or control of the government. The government exercises significant authority over these organizations, including leadership appointments, property matters, religious practices, and even doctrinal interpretation. This report examines six state-controlled religious organizations. It also documents how the CPV and the Vietnamese government utilize three key Party and government organizations, several laws, and three overarching strategies—substitution, co-opting, and infiltration—to control religious life through state-controlled religious organizations.
In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate Vietnam as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. In September 2023, USCIRF released a report documenting religious freedom conditions in Vietnam, after a May 2023 USCIRF commissioner-led delegation to the country.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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