Deputy Minister Vũ Chiến Thắng receives Pastor Franklin Graham

03/03/2023

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vũ Chiến Thắng hosted on March 2 a reception for Pastor Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and President of the international relief organization Samaritan’ Purse.

Overview of the reception

Joining the reception included Director of the MOHA’s International Relation Department Chu Tuấn Tú, and Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Nguyễn Tiến Trọng.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vũ Chiến Thắng (R) and Pastor Franklin Graham

Welcoming the delegation, Deputy Minister Vũ Chiến Thắng stated that the Vietnamese Party and State have always pursued a consistent policy of respecting and ensuring the right to freedom of belief and religion, as well as the equality among religions.

He informed that compared to five years ago when the pastor came to Vietnam, religious life in Vietnam has seen many changes. Specifically, the number of followers of religions increased by more than 2 million, of which Protestants has increased by more than 100,000 lay followers and a total of 43 religious organizations have been recognized by the State, etc

State polices on belief and religion have been renewed for recent years in order to create favorable conditions for people to practice their right to freedom of belief and religion, from the Constitution 2013, the Law on Belief and Religion 2016 or several other legal documents relating belief and religion.

The Deputy Minister highly appreciated practical contributions made by religious organizations in general and Protestant Churches in particular in fields of education, health and charity.

The official expressed his hope that the Pastor, with its great prestige, would continue to arrange charitable activities, including the provision of clean water, environment, and assistance to disadvantaged children in Vietnam, in the coming time

He also expected that the Pastor would see achievements on socio-economic and experience the reality of the diverse belief and religious life in Vietnam during his trip to Vietnam.

While sharing his pleasure relating to Vietnam, Pastor Franklin Graham expressed his delight at Vietnam’s development achievements and improvement of people's living standards.

Speaking with the hosts, Pastor Franklin Graham informed that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association includes many different Protestant churches with doctrinal differences, different interpretations of the Bible.