Everyone treasures the S-shaped holly land where every inch of land has been soaked in the blood and sweat of ancestors, from generation to generation, throughout the long history of struggle for national construction and defence and where the sacred souls of the rivers and mountains and ancestors have focused on the Hung Temples known as the roots of the Vietnamese nation. Therefore, attaching belief to life and religion to the nation in order to make the country glorious with strong beliefs is the deep-seated aspiration of Vietnamese people and no one can easily sow the seeds of doubt. However, those who have strong antipathy towards communists and socialism put communists in opposition to religious followers. They have made all kinds of allegations, saying that theism and atheism are like water and fire; socialism does not go together with religion; socialism denies the existence of God; socialism is not in line with the civilization of Catholicism. They have described communists as those without country, family and belief and, even worse, as demons, accusing communists of eliminating Catholics in a deliberate attempt to make people forget that French colonialists were the arch enemy of Catholics, communists and the entire people as well.

In fact, the process of carrying out the two revolutions of national liberation and socialist construction has made such slanderous charges null and void. To be sure, communists have never had any intention to deny the existence of religion along with socialism nor issued any policy against religion. But they have only opposed those making use of religions to carry out dark political schemes.

In Vietnam, barely one day after declaring the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, the then President Ho Chi Minh asked the Government to release a statement on religious freedom and unity between non-religious and religious people. In 1951, in the face of the enemy’s slanderous charges saying that communists would eliminate religion, Ho Chi Minh affirmed at a closing ceremony after the Vietnam Workers’ Party made its debut that with regard to religion, the Vietnam Workers’ Party fully respects the right to religious freedom of everybody. After the North was liberated, while a number of religious people were still worried about religious activities under the new regime, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out that the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) does not eliminate religion but always protects it and that the CPV only abolishes the exploitation of man by man. On May 10, 1958, in reply to voters’ question about whether religion is restricted when the country is advancing to socialism, Ho Chi Minh once again reiterated the fact that religion is totally free in socialist countries and it is also the same in Vietnam.

In 1980, the CPV’s Political Bureau issued Resolution No 24 on religious work, defining that religion is existent for a long time and belief and religion are the spiritual needs of a segment of people. Religious ethics have many things in common with the process of building a new society. The Resolution adopted at the 7^th conference of the 9th Party Central Committee in 2003 said, " Belief and religion are the spiritual needs of a segment of people which will exist along with the nation in its process of building socialism. People of different religions are part of the great national unity bloc."

It is common knowledge that in the three decades of resistance wars against French colonialists and US imperialists, the Vietnamese people, including religious followers and dignitaries, faced so many difficulties, hardships and sacrifices. During the past 20 years of implementing the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, they have again joint efforts in making tremendous achievements in all aspects of social life, including religious freedom. With their material and spiritual life constantly improving, religious people are feeling more and more confident about Party and State guidelines and policies and are actively engaging in the national renewal process.

There is no doubt that Vietnamese people, belonging to ethnic minorities or the ethnic majority who are non-religious and religious and currently live at home or abroad, are all wishing for a prosperous and peaceful country and a happy life to glorify Vietnam in the international arena. This has been and will be a common desire of the Vietnamese people to unite and reach a consensus between religious and non-religious people. Therefore, it is very important for the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) to make the masses fully aware of Party and State guidelines and policies towards monks, nuns, religious followers and dignitaries.