The video highlights the amazing and unparalleled work of IGE and our partners in Vietnam over the past 15 years.
We hope the video inspires you and encourages you to continue supporting IGE to catalyze freedom of faith worldwide so that everyone can live what they believe. Interested in learing about IGE in Vietnam?
Since 2004, IGE has worked with both national leaders and the people of Vietnam to build religious freedom. Our unique and innovative programs are changing mindsets, equipping and building a network of reformers, and educating government officials and faith leaders on the legal protection of religious freedom for all. Thanks in part to IGE and our Vietnamese partners’ perseverance, the nation has made significant progress in religious freedom.
IGE has now trained over 4,000 Vietnamese scholars, government officials, policy advisers, faith leaders and military personnel on good governance and religion, religious rights, international standards of religious freedom, religious freedom in Vietnam, reconcilation, and the implications of Vietnam’s new law on religion and belief.
IGE’s network of alumni have produced a growing body of Vietnamese language scholarship on religious freedom advocacy. They are also making religious freedom, rule of law and harmonious state and religion relations regular topics of study and practice at academic and government institutions across the country.
“Religious freedom has been regarded as more sensitive even than military issues, but IGE’s work over the past 15 years in this area is successful because of our mutual trust and respect.”
“Your bread and butter programs are making real impact on the ground, so please keep doing them!”
“We are very happy that we work with IGE and other partner organizations and institutions in Vietnam and in the U.S. on the process of religious freedom.”
“I hope that these types of programs will continue in order to make the public more aware of the importance of the guarantee of religious freedom and fundamental right to human beings.”
“I believe that a great deal of the favor that we are shown is a direct result of our partnership with the Institute for Global Engagement. I have seen firsthand the respect that government officials have for IGE.”
“In Vietnam, there have been many publications on religion and beliefs, but this is the first one focusing on freedom of religion and belief – a topic that many people are still hesitant to discuss. This hesitance demonstrates the need for this textbook.”
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An IGE delegation visits the Northwest highlands in 2007. It was a strict religious landscape at the time. From 2007-2015 IGE made regular visits and conducted religion policies and registration seminars throughout the region; pluralism is becoming more acceptable to the government and society.
In 2008 IGE Founder Robert Seiple and an IGE delegation visited Gia Lai province Evangelical churches to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Protestant faith in the Central Highlands region.
IGE always seeks to listen to and learn from the local context. In order to better understand the religious freedom landscape, a 2010 delegation met with a family reporting harassment due conversion to Christianity.
IGE’s Religion and Rule of Law programming in Vietnam began in 2012. Since then we have held 7 certificate programs. 560 government officials and faith leaders have participated in our trainings to date.
IGE often hosts Vietnamese partners (academics, religion policy advisors) to the U.S. This is a 2015 delegation where we conducted several meetings to facilitate the exchange of information about religion.
In 2016 IGE CWFL Fellow Chaplain Judy Manala joined the IGE delegation to lecture at our Religion and Rule of Law programing. At a local Evangelical church, she prayed for pastor Bui Quoc Phong.
One of the many types of training programs IGE offers is conflict resolution skills with a focus on negotiation; these help faith leaders handle church conflicts and government relations better.
In 2017 IGE and our government partner, the Vietnam-USA Society (VUS) renewed our partnership through a new 5-year agreement to continue working on religious freedom projects. To date we have trained over 4,000 people about freedom of religion and its positive contributions to society.
Recent Vietnam Program News
IGE conducts Religion and Rule of Law Training in Vietnam’s Nghe An Province
From August 7-10, 2023, IGE and its partners held the 11th Religion and Rule of Law certificate training program in Vietnam’s Nghe An province.
IGE Publishes New Compendium of Religious Freedom Scholarship in Vietnam
IGE and its Vietnam government partner have published a bilingual Vietnamese-English compendium of research papers on religious freedom.
IGE Conducts 10th Religion and Rule of Law Training in Ho Chi Minh City
From November 1-4, 2022, IGE and its partners held the 10th Religion & Rule of Law certificate training program in Ho Chi Minh City. There were 93 participants from six provinces and cities in Vietnam’s southeast region.
