Bu Sar A Protestant Church under the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) (South) in Binh Phuoc province was formally established at a ceremony held on June 5.

A press conference on human rights and foreign affairs service in May was held on June 4 in Hanoi.

According to Thach Ha district People’s Committee in Ha Tinh province, Chieu Trung temple festival marking the 574^th anniversary of General Lê Khôi’s death this year will not include cultural activities for preventing Covid-19 pandemic.

The National Assembly Standing Committee has introduced its national target program of socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the next decade. This is part of the National Assembly’s measures to promote the rights of Vietnamese ethnic groups.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, most of 130,000 prisoners had practiced certain forms of worship before being arrested, detained or served prison sentences.

As many as 400 lay Buddhists have gathered in Trinh pagoda located in Quang Ninh province’s Uong Bi city for attending a Buddhist course held from May 30-31.

Long An province currently has 10 operative religions with over 426,000 followers (accounting for 28.5 % the provincial population) and 531 religious worshipping places.

Du Khanh pagoda under the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha located in Tien Giang province’s Go Cong district is currently administered by Senior Venerable Abbot Thích Như Trang and has 500 lay Buddhists.

The Military Zone 9 High Command, headquartered in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, opened its memorial site to honour the late President Ho Chi Minh at a ceremony on May 31.

The Trung Sisters Temple-Pagoda-Communal House complex in Dong Nhan ward, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi, has been recognised as a special national relic site.

Senior Venerable Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s Executive Committee in Tien Giang province Thích Quảng Lộc paid a visit on May 21 to Buddhist monks and nuns living in Covid-19 quarantine camp based in the military school in the locality.

American news site Business Insider has picked Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, built in the French colonial times, among world’s 19 most beautiful cathedrals.

Priest Ngọc Quân Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Tay Ninh Caodai Church’s representative committee in Ninh Thuan province was formally appointed as Acting Chairman of the Caodai representative committee at a ceremony held on May 24.

Plei Pham Evangelical Chapter under the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) (South) in Chu Se district’s Barmaih commune of Gia Lai province held on May 22 a solemn ceremony for consecrating its new church.

The Van Kieu ethnic minority has been living along the Truong Sơn mountain range in central Vietnam for centuries. Because they rely heavily on the forest for their subsistence, the Van Kieu have developed a strong faith in supernatural forces. This helps to explain why they have maintained so many ancient customs and traditions despite their social evolution. Worshipping the souls of the living is one such ttradition.