Dialogue for religious reconciliation in Southern Vietnam after November 1963: A view from some archived documents

Abstract

After the coup that overthrew the Ngo Dinh Diem government in November 1963, religious and political situations in Southern Vietnam were highly tense. Religious practices under political influence led to suspicion, misunderstanding, and eventually confrontation. That situation required involved religious groups to sit down together for a dialogue of reconciliation. This is the investigating topic of this article. Its first part examines religious discrimination and inequality posed by the First Republic of Southern Vietnam, which were considered the cause of the collapse of that regime at the end of 1963. The second part deals with the interactions between Catholicism and Buddhism after November 1963. Using historical and political approaches and the deployment of reliable archival and historical sources, the author aims to shed new light on religious practice in southern Vietnam and suggest that religious disagreement can be narrowed by a spirit of goodwill for dialogues.