By Alex Williams
There’s concern new legislation coming into force next month could restrict the ability of Christians in Vietnam to go to church.
Religious groups must have approval from the government and be registered in order to practise under the Law on Belief and Religion.
Thomas Muller, an analyst at Open Doors, an organisation helping persecuted Christians, told World Watch Monitor such regulations could cause “great difficulties”.
He said: “Whereas there are a few sections in which the new law can be considered to be an improvement for Christians, the regulations on registration in particular will definitely cause churches great difficulties.
The law, ratified by the National Assembly last month and due to come into force next month, prompted condemnation from 50 organisations, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Amnesty International.
Thomas Muller from Open Doors added: “It is particularly interesting to see that ASEAN [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] lawmakers have also criticised the new law.
“Since it is highly unusual that ASEAN publically criticises another member country, this will certainly give the authorities in Vietnam something to think about.”
Meanwhile, the Voice of Vietnam reported that some religious leaders in Vietnam appear to have welcomed the legislation for promoting “the values of religions and patriotism and combat hostile forces’ intention to sabotage socialism”.
(Source: premier)