International Conference “Christian Thinkers in Vietnam in Comparison with the Region”

The workshop was attended by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (Party Secretary, Vice Principal of the School), Prof. Dr. People's Teacher Nguyen Van Khanh (Former Principal, former Director of the Center for Contemporary Religious Studies), Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Tung (Director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences), Associate Prof. Dr. Chu Van Tuan (Director of the Institute for Religious Studies). In addition, there were many religious researchers and representatives of many religious training units in and outside the country.

Overview of the workshop

Five centuries ago, Christianity was introduced to East Asia and Southeast Asia. Historically and presently, Christian thinkers and intellectuals have contributed significantly to the cause of industrialization and modernization; becoming a catalyst for economic development of countries in the region. On the other hand, the spread of Christianity has brought a new wind to religious life and culture in general. For Vietnam, the introduction of Christianity has changed the map of religious studies. Since the colonial period, Christianity has spread to the mountainous and highland regions, the plains of ethnic minorities. Up to now, it can be said that it is present in every region of our country.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim delivered the opening speech of the conference.

This conference was organized to analyze the cultural and ideological values ​​of prominent figures of Catholicism and Protestantism; thereby making recommendations to promote the role of Christian intellectuals in the development of modern culture and society. The conference was guided by the motto: "We can only utilize all resources for development when we are fair and objective with history."

During the 2 days, the speakers focused on discussing and clarifying a number of issues:

• Christianity in the early meeting between East and West
• Explaining the assimilation of Christian thought in Vietnam from the perspective of Cultural Philosophy
• The Influences of Humanistic Thought and Christian Ethics in Vietnam from the Perspective of Cultural Philosophy
• The influences of humanistic thought and Christian ethics on cognitive, behavioral and organizational culture in Vietnam.
• Comparison between Buddhism and Christianity
• The role of Catholic clergy and intellectuals in preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of the Vietnamese people

In addition, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its establishment, Associate Professor Dr. Lam Ba Nam (Director) summarized the activities of the Center for Contemporary Religious Studies. In a decade of formation and development, the Center has had many positive achievements for the Vietnamese religious studies sector in particular and international religious studies in general: organizing 10 international conferences and 5 domestic seminars on religious issues, publishing 8 publications, completing 3 state-level scientific and technological topics and implementing 3 ministerial-level topics. Many staff of the Center received postgraduate training in Korea, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, with the active support from the German Institute for Religious Studies, the Center has built a Religious-Cultural documentation room with nearly 2,000 documents. With these results, the Center for Contemporary Religion was awarded a certificate of merit by the President of VNU.

Associate Professor, Dr. Lam Ba Nam reported on the achievements in 10 years of operation.TCenter for Contemporary Religious Studies

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim, on behalf of the School's Board of Directors, received flowers of thanks from the Center's Board of Directors.