Inter-religious Faith Dialogue - The Case of Vietnamese Catholicism

Abstract

All world religions, local religions, monotheism, pantheism or polytheism have religious faiths. Religious faith is the most important factor to determine whether it is religion or not. When religious faith changes, the identity of religion also changes. Keeping religious faith helps to hold of religious nature. When religious faith is offended, religious conflict will happen. Religious conflict can lead religious war. Vietnam is a multi-religious nation, but religious war never happens in Vietnam because Vietnamese religions usually realize interreligious faith dialogues. Before the Second Vatican Council, Catholicism had not inter-religious faith dialogue, so there was the conflict on religious faith. Since the Second Vatican Council, concretely after the Pastoral Letter 1980 of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, the inter-religious faith dialogues of Catholicism have been realized. In the past, the inter-religious faith dialogue of Catholicism in Vietnam
was unofficial activity; it was carried out by believers, and it has gradually become an official activity. At present, the interreligious faith dialogue has been indispensable tendency. It can brings happiness to humankind and enriches spiritual life. Based on documents, the author analyses each content and form of dialogues, and then points out three values of the interreligious faith dialogue of Catholicism in Vietnam.