(CPV) Training human resources in Religious Studies to suit practical needs

Vietnam is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country with 43 religious organizations belonging to 16 religions that have been recognized and granted registration for operation by the State; about 95% of our country's population has a religious and belief life. A very positive highlight in Vietnam is that religions are closely attached to and accompany the nation; there are no religious conflicts. The direction of Catholicism in Vietnam is "Living the Gospel in the heart of the nation to serve the happiness of compatriots", of Buddhism is "Dharma - Nation - Socialism"...

Although each belief and religion in our country has its own distinct cultural features, they are all influenced by national traditions, contributing to the beauty of a diverse culture rich in national identity. Practicing religious rituals and practicing religious beliefs has contributed to creating and uniting the community of believers; bringing people closer together. In addition, religious knowledge is one of the sources that nurture spiritual life and help people better understand the identity of the community and the nation. These are factors that make it easy for Vietnamese people to integrate with many different beliefs and religions.

Religion is also one of the components of national culture; the cultural value of religion is expressed in beliefs, practice of moral commandments, tangible and intangible heritages. Typically, the good cultural and moral values ​​in Catholic doctrine are expressed in the 10 commandments, of which seven precepts on human morality have contributed to cultivating personal and social morality and culture; Buddhism with the motto "Dao dharma does not depart from worldly dharma" has promoted its moral and cultural values ​​into Vietnamese social life through the concepts of compassion, joy, forgiveness, selflessness, and the law of cause and effect; For Hoa Hao Buddhism, this religion has deepened the nation's tradition of filial piety through teaching people to practice the Four Graces (gratitude to ancestors and parents, gratitude to the country, gratitude to the Three Jewels, gratitude to fellow human beings)... The cultural values ​​of religions are also expressed in religious architecture and paintings; Buddhist music, Catholic hymns,...

With those moral, cultural, spiritual and material values, religion has been identified as one of the resources for national development. At the 13th National Party Congress, our Party affirmed: "Promoting cultural values, good ethics and religious resources for the cause of national development" (Documents of the 13th National Congress, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2021, vol. I, p. 171). In addition, our Party and State also clearly state that religious work is the task of the entire political system.
However, the current human resources with training in Religious Studies are at a rather modest level compared to the needs of society. Specifically, in the current university system nationwide, there are two universities with undergraduate training in Religious Studies, namely the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

Welcome Day for New Students K67 of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (academic year 2022-2023)

Of which, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-USSH) is the first university in Vietnam to offer undergraduate training in Religious Studies, but so far there have only been two graduation courses, each with 50-60 students. Regarding training quality, the university training program in Religious Studies at VNU-USSH has just been granted a Certificate of Accreditation of University Education Quality according to the standards of the Ministry of Education and Training. In addition to the undergraduate level, the University is currently offering postgraduate training in Religious Studies.

VNU-USSH Religious Studies Department has just been awarded the Certificate of Higher Education Quality Accreditation (Photo: Thuy Dung)

The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences also offer postgraduate training in Religious Studies, but for working officials and civil servants. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Ho Chi Minh City National University will not offer a bachelor's degree in Religious Studies until 2022.

Looking at the above figures, many experts and officials working in the field of religion and culture commented that the supply of human resources with a degree in Religious Studies has not met the needs of society and the needs of religious work. This is one of the reasons why civil servants and public employees, while working in units doing religious work, or related to religion, have to go to political academies to improve their knowledge in this field. This limitation has also been pointed out by Dr. Vu Chien Thang - former Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs: agencies and units doing religious work must recruit and accept people from fields close to the field of Religious Studies (such as philosophy, history, cultural studies, etc.); then they must work, self-study and learn from the experiences of their predecessors, or be sent by the agency or unit for further training. This situation is due to the fact that only a few universities and academies provide training in Religious Studies. To overcome these limitations, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs has advised the Government to approve the "Project on training cadres and civil servants working in religious affairs for the period 2017 - 2020".

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, there are currently many fields that require knowledge of religion such as: architecture, culture, painting, music, tourism, government and non-government projects on cultural, social, religious and belief development. In particular, for job positions related to religious work at Party, State, Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, university and post-graduate graduates in Religious Studies are very suitable human resources for the job requirements, because they are not only trained in depth in Religious Studies but also equipped with the guidelines, policies, and laws of our Party and State in this field. From these analyses, Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, believes that religious knowledge is a very important factor in the development of religious knowledge. Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong affirmed that training in Religious Studies at university and postgraduate levels is a direction that is suitable for the practical needs of society and the need for qualified human resources of agencies doing religious work; at the same time, it contributes to overcoming the situation of having to work and go to training at the same time as in the recent period./.

– Name of training major: Religious Studies
– Education level: Bachelor.
– Training time: 4 years
– Name of diploma:
+ Vietnamese: Bachelor of Religious Studies
+ English: The Degree of Bachelor in Religious Studies
– Unit assigned to train: University of Social Sciences and Humanities