| THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY | SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM |
| No. 21/2004/PL-UBTVQH11 | Hanoi, June 18, 2004 |
Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which was amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10 of December 25, 2001 of the Xth National Assembly, the 10th session;
Pursuant to Resolution No. 21/2003/QH11 of November 26, 2003 of the XIth National Assembly, the 4th session, on the 2004 law- and ordinance-making program;
This Ordinance prescribes belief and religious activities.
The State guarantees citizens' right to belief and religious freedom. Nobody can infringe upon such freedom right.
All religions are equal before law.
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Religious dignitaries, priests and monks have to regularly educate followers in patriotism, exercise of the civic rights, performance of the civic obligations and the sense of law observance.
Article 3.- In this Ordinance, the following terms and phrases shall be construed as follows:
1. Belief activities mean activities demonstrating the ancestral worship, commemoration and honoring of the persons with merits to the country and/or communities; worship of deities, saints or traditional idols, and other folk belief activities representing the fine values of history, culture and social ethics.
2. Belief establishments mean places where communal belief activities are carried out, including communal houses, temples, small temples, small pagodas, ancestral worship altars, clan ancestor worship houses and the like.
3. Religious organizations mean groups of believers in the same system of religious tenets, principles and rites, which are organized according to a certain structure recognized by the State.
4. Grassroots religious organizations mean grassroots units of religious organizations, including pagoda protection boards or pagoda management boards of Buddhism, dioceses of Catholicism, chapters of Protestantism, religious clans of Caodaism, commune, ward or district township administration boards of Hoa Hao Buddhism sect, and grassroots units of other religious organizations.
5. Religious activities mean the preaching and practice of tenets, principles and rites and organizational management of religions.
6. Religious societies mean a form of rallying followers, set up by religious organizations in service of religious activities.
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8. Followers mean persons who believe in a religion and are recognized by religious organizations.
9. Priests or monks mean followers who voluntarily and constantly effect a particular lifestyle according to the tenets and principles of a religion in which they believe.
10. Dignitaries mean followers who hold specific positions or ranks in religions.
a/ To rally people who have beliefs or follow religions as well as non-belief or non-religious people for building up the great national unity bloc, constructing and defending the Fatherland.
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c/ To take part in propagating among and mobilizing dignitaries, priests, monks, followers, persons who have beliefs, religious organizations and people to observe the law provisions on beliefs and religions;
d/ To participate in the formulation and supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on beliefs and religions.
2. Within the ambit of their tasks and powers, the State agencies shall take initiative in coordinating with Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the Front's member organizations in propagating, mobilizing and implementing policies and laws on beliefs and religions.
2. It is prohibited to abuse the right of belief and religious freedom to undermine peace, national independence and unification; incite violence or propagate wars, conduct propagation in contraven-tion of the State's laws and policies; divide people, nationalities or religions; cause public disorder, infringe upon the life, health, dignity, honor and/or property of others, or impede the exercise of civic rights and performance of civic obligations; conduct superstitious activities or other acts of law violation.
BELIEF ACTIVITIES OF BELIEVERS AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES OF FOLLOWERS, PRIESTS, MONKS AND DIGNITARIES
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2. In belief or religious activities, believers and followers shall have to respect the right to belief and religious freedom and the right to non-belief and non-religious freedom of other people; exercise their right to belief and religious freedom without impeding the exercise of their civic rights and performance of their civic obligations; and conduct belief or religious activities in strict compliance with law provisions.
2. In cases where they perform religious rites, preach or teach religions at variance with the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, they must obtain approvals of the People's Committees of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals or provincial towns (hereinafter referred collectively to as district-level People's Committees) where they shall conduct such activities.
2. Competence to approve the organization of belief festivals shall be prescribed by the Government.
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2. For persons who have completely served penalties or administrative handling measures mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, they shall be allowed to preside over religious rites, do missionary work, to teach religions or manage religious organizations only after having their activities registered by religious organizations and approved by competent State agencies.
Article 15.- Belief or religious activities shall be stopped in one of the following cases:
1. They infringe upon the national security, seriously affect the public order or environment;
2. They adversely affect the people's unity, the fine national cultural traditions;
3. They infringe upon life, health, dignity, honor or property of other persons.
4. They involve other serious law violation acts.
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS AND OPERATION THEREOF
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a/ Being an organization of persons having the same belief, having religious tenets, principles and rites, which are not contrary to the nation's fine traditions, customs and interests;
b/ Having a charter or statute expressing its guidelines, objectives and way of religious practice, closely associated with the nation and not contrary to law provisions;
c/ Having registered religious activities and conducting stable religious activities;
d/ Having a head office, organizational structure and lawful representative;
e/ Having an appellation not identical to that of another religious organization already recognized by the competent State agency.
2. Competence to recognize religious organizations:
a/ The Prime Minister recognizes religious organizations having the scope of operation in many provinces and/or centrally-run cities;
b/ The presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities recognize religious organizations having the scope of operation mainly in a province or centrally-run city.
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2. The establishment, division, separation, merger or amalgamation of grassroots religious organizations must be approved by the People's Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial-level People's Committees).
3. The establishment, division, separation, merger or amalgamation of religious organizations not falling into the cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article must be approved by the Prime Minister.
2. Religious organizations' conferences or congresses at the central level or of the entire religious sects shall be held after they are approved by the central-level agencies in charge of State management over religions.
3. Religious organizations' conferences or congresses not falling into the cases prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall be held after they are approved by the provincial-level People’s Committees of the localities, where such conferences or congresses take place.
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2. The registration of religious societies is prescribed as follows:
a/ Religious societies having the scope of operation within a rural district, urban district, provincial capital or provincial town shall be registered with the district-level People's Committees of localities where they operate;
b/ Religious societies having the scope of operation in many rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals and/or provincial towns shall be registered with the provincial-level People's Committees of localities where they operate;
c/ Religious societies having the scope of operation in many provinces and/or centrally-run cities shall be registered with the central-level agencies in charge of State management over religions.
The registration of operations of religious orders, monasteries and other collective religious practice organizations shall comply with the regulations applicable to religious societies prescribed in Clause 2, Article 19 of this Ordinance.
2. Persons in charge of religious establishments, when admitting persons wishing to enter into religion, shall have to register them with the commune-level People's Committees of the localities where their religious establishments are located.
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2. Persons who are ordained, bestowed orders, appointed, elected or honorarily nominated must satisfy the following conditions before being recognized by the State:
a/ Being Vietnamese citizens, having good ethical qualities;
b/ Having spirit of national unity and harmony;
c/ Strictly observing law.
3. The dismissal or discharge of religious dignitaries shall comply with the charters or statutes of religious organizations.
4. Religious organizations shall have the responsibility to register the ordained, order-bestowed, appointed, elected or honorarily nominated persons; notify the dismissal or discharge of religious dignitaries to competent State management agencies.
For dignitaries, priests or monks who have violated the religious legislation and been administratively handled by presidents of the provincial-level People's Committees or criminally handled, their transfer to other places of religious activities must also be approved by the provincial-level People's Committees of the localities where they move to according to the Government's regulations.
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2. The establishment of schools for training professional religious activists must be approved by the Prime Minister.
The enrollment of students of religious training schools must comply with the principles of publicity and free will of enrollees and the schools' approved operation charters.
The Vietnamese history and Vietnamese law shall be the curricular study subjects in the training programs of schools training professional religious activists.
3. The opening of fostering classes for professional religious activists must be approved by the presidents of the provincial-level People's Committees of the localities where such courses are opened.
4. The order and procedures for establishing or dissolving training schools or opening religious fostering classes shall be prescribed by the Government.
1. Rites participated by followers within a rural district, urban district, provincial capital or provincial town must be approved by the district-level People's Committees of localities where such rites take place;
2. Rites participated by followers from many rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals and/or provincial towns within a province or centrally-run city or from many provinces and/or centrally-run cities must be approved by the provincial-level People's Committees of the localities where such rites take place.
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2. Land with works being communal houses, temples, small temples, small pagodas, ancestral worship altars and clan ancestor worship houses thereon shall be used in a stable and long-term manner.
3. The management and use of land prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall comply with the provisions of the land legislation.
2. The fund raising by belief establishments and religious organizations must be organized publicly with clear use purposes and must be notified in advance to the People's Committees of the localities where the fund raising is organized.
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The management, use, renovation and upgrading of works belonging to belief or religious establishments being historical-cultural relics, scenic places or beauty spots shall comply with the provisions of the legislation on cultural heritage and relevant legislations.
The change of the use purposes of works belonging to belief establishments must be approved by the district-level People's Committees. The change of the use purposes of works of religious establishments must be approved by the provincial-level People's Committees.
2. Dignitaries, priests or monks, in their capacity as citizens, are encouraged by the State to organize educational, healthcare, charity or humanitarian activities according to law provisions.
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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, FOLLOWERS, PRIESTS, MONKS AND DIGNITARIES
When conducting international relation activities, religious organizations, followers, priests, monks and dignitaries must be on equal footing, respect one another, respect independence, sovereignty and internal affairs of the countries.
1. Inviting foreign organizations or foreigners into Vietnam or organizing the execution of undertakings of foreign religious organizations in Vietnam;
2. Participating in religious activities or sending persons to join religious training courses overseas.
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2. Religious societies, religious orders, monasteries and other collective religious practice organizations, which have been registered and permitted for operation before the effective date of this Ordinance, shall not have to carry out the procedures for re-registration.
Article 40.- This Ordinance takes effect as from November 15, 2004.
Article 41.- The Government shall detail and guide the implementation of this Ordinance.
ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE
CHAIRMAN
Nguyen Van An
- 1Decree No. 92/2012/ND-CP of November 8, 2012, detailing and providing measures for the implementation of the ordinance on beliefs and religions
- 2Resolution no. 51/2001/NQ-QH10 of December 25, 2001 on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the 1992 constitution of the socialist republic of Vietnam
- 31992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Ordinance No.21/2004/PL-UBTVQH11 of June 29, 2004 on beliefs and religions
- Số hiệu: 21/2004/PL-UBTVQH11
- Loại văn bản: Pháp lệnh
- Ngày ban hành: 18/06/2004
- Nơi ban hành: Uỷ ban Thường vụ Quốc hội
- Người ký: Nguyễn Văn An
- Ngày công báo: Đang cập nhật
- Số công báo: Đang cập nhật
- Ngày hiệu lực: 15/11/2004
- Ngày hết hiệu lực: 01/01/2018
- Tình trạng hiệu lực: Hết hiệu lực