The Early Dynasties

The relationship between religion and state in Vietnam has been shaped by a variety of domestic and international forces. Extended periods of Chinese domination during the first millennium CE led to the importation of both Confucian and Buddhist traditions. Reflecting this heritage, the first major Vietnamese dynasty, the Ly (1010-1225), instituted a complex system of Confucian hierarchical relationships while installing Mahayana Buddhism as the de facto state religion. The royal family propagated Buddhism throughout Vietnam and exempted Buddhist monks from state taxes and civic duties. Buddhism remained the state religion through the Tran Dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1407, the Chinese Ming Dynasty invaded the country and replaced the Vietnamese Buddhist court with neo-Confucian practices. Although the Ming only ruled for twenty years, they substantially strengthened adherence to Confucianism. Over the next three hundred years, the ruling Le Dynasty erected temples to Confucius and changed the state religion to Confucianism. In the early 1600s, the Le Dynasty allowed French Jesuits to open a Catholic mission in Vietnam. By the late 1700s, French records show 800,000 Vietnamese had converted to Christianity. The Nguyen Dynasty, which came to power in 1802, supported Confucianism and forbade Buddhism, Taoism, and indigenous religious practice. In 1833, Ngyuen King Minh Mang declared all proselytism illegal and forbade Catholic missionaries from entering Vietnam. The French government sent troops to Vietnam to defend the missionaries. In 1861, the French forced the Vietnamese to sign a treaty that was later interpreted as giving the French protectorate status over Vietnam. The French continued their conquests and in 1885, Vietnam officially became a part of French Indochina.