Opening of the Religious and Belief Documentation Reading Room

The reading room for religious and belief-related materials was established to meet the needs of scientific research and understanding of religious and belief-related fields, within the framework of the cooperation between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Missionswisseschaftliches Institut Missio today.Center for Contemporary Religious Studies(CECRS). The reading room is expected to enhance scientific research and contribute to making the University of Social Sciences and Humanities a research university. The reading room has approximately 1000 books on general theories of religion, specific religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Mother Goddess worship, etc., covering both religious research and religious practice.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Hung delivers a speech at the opening ceremony (Photo: Tran Minh)

Speaking at the ceremony, Associate Professor Tran Thi Minh Hoa stated that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities currently possesses many valuable documents that need to be archived and utilized. Therefore, the establishment of a documentation room by the Center for Contemporary Religious Studies will greatly contribute to serving the research and training activities of the University. The Vice Rector expressed hope that the Center will continue to develop the potential of the documentation room in the future, especially in the direction of digitizing documents. This will be a significant contribution to the development of the University in general and the field of Religious Studies in particular.

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the documentation room (Photo: Tran Minh)

In 1999, the Department of Religious Studies was established within the Faculty of Philosophy. In 2007,Center for Contemporary Religious StudiesEstablished as a result of a collaboration between the University of Science and Humanities and Missionswissenschaftliches Institut Missio e. V (MWI), Federal Republic of Germany, the Faculty marks the development of religious studies both academically and in international relations. Since 2005, the Faculty has offered postgraduate training in Religious Studies, and since 2014, the doctoral program in Religious Studies has been officially implemented.