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RESOURCES OF CAODAISM IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE
SOUTHERN VIETNAM Tran M.N.1, Nguyen H.T.2
1Tran Minh Nhat - PhD student,
FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, 2Nguyen Huu Thu - PhD in philosophy, lecturer, Deputy director of center for contemporary religious studies, VNU UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, HANOI, SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Abstract: Cao Dai is the largest endogenous religion in Vietnam, born at the end of 1926 in Tay Ninh, with many characteristics of Southern residents. After nearly 100 years of existence and development, Cao Dai followers have always maintained a relationship of solidarity and attachment with the community, actively participating in local socioeconomic development movements, using many models effective such as: Actively participating in charity and social security; building new rural areas; promote the role of cooperative economy; Strengthen the promotion and development of religious tourism... Those material values are the great resources that Cao Dai religion participates in socio-economic development, Cao Dai followers always consciously participate. Productive labor creates wealth to feed oneself and enrich society. This article uses methods of analysis, comparison and synthesis of actual data sources (interviews, surveys...) to show the correlation in the participation of resources. Through that, it helps us have a general view and a clearer understanding of the value of Cao Dai's contribution to the development of socio-economic life in the South, contributing to promoting national economic growth and building the country is getting richer and stronger. Keywords: CaoDaism, Religious resources, Socio-economics, Southern.
РЕСУРСЫ КАОДАЗМА В СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОМ РАЗВИТИИ
ЮЖНОГО ВЬЕТНАМА Чан М.Н.1, Нгуен Х.Т.2
1Чан Минь Нхат - Аспирант, Факультет философии,
2Нгуен Хыу Тху - Кандидат философских наук, преподаватель, Заместитель директора Центра современных
религиоведения, ВНУ Университет социально-гуманитарных наук, г. Ханой, Социалистическая Республика Вьетнам
Аннотация: Каодай — крупнейшая эндогенная религия Вьетнама, зародившаяся в конце 1926 года в Тайнине, со многими характеристиками жителей Юга. После почти 100 лет существования и развития последователи Каодай всегда поддерживали отношения солидарности и привязанности с сообществом, активно участвуя в местных движениях социально-экономического развития, используя множество эффективных моделей, таких как: активное участие в благотворительности и социальном обеспечении; строительство новых сельских районов; продвигать роль кооперативной экономики; Усилить продвижение и развитие религиозного туризма... Эти материальные ценности являются огромными ресурсами, которые религия Каодай участвует в социально-экономическом развитии, последователи Каодай всегда сознательно участвуют. Производительный труд создает богатство, позволяющее прокормить себя и обогатить общество. В этой статье используются методы анализа, сравнения и синтеза реальных источников данных (интервью, опросы...), чтобы показать корреляцию в участии ресурсов. Благодаря этому, это помогает нам иметь общее представление и более четкое понимание ценности вклада Цао Дая в развитие социально-экономической жизни на Юге, содействия экономическому росту страны и построению страны, которая становится богаче и сильнее. Ключевые слова: Каодаизм, Религиозные ресурсы, Социально-экономическая теория, Юг.
* This research is funded by University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University-Hanoi, grant number CS.2024.32.
Introduction
The South is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious land with a long history of formation and development, with a total area of more than 64,000 km2, accounting for about 19% of the country's area, located downstream of the Dong Nai and Vam Co rivers, Mekong River and part of the East Sea, in the south of our country. Currently, the South has 19 provinces and cities in two regions: the Southeast (6 provinces) and the Southwest (13 provinces) [Including the Southeast (6 provinces/cities: Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai); Southwest (13 provinces/cities: Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho City, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang)]. It is the birthplace of many indigenous religions, clearly characterized by the personality of the people here. Among these endogenous religions, the most notable is Cao Dai religion, a new religion that imported many East-West cultural elements and local customs. The principle of Cao Dai religion is to present the truths of religions to guide people to live ethically, love humanity, and unite to build a peaceful society.
Up to now, according to statistical results of the Vietnam Government Committee for Religious Affairs in 2023, Cao Dai religion has nearly "2.4 million followers, of which the state has recognized legal organizations of Cao Dai religion, includes 9 Cao Dai Churches and 18 Cao Dai organizations operating independently. It is estimated that currently, all believers live in 38 provinces and cities nationwide, with 65 Religious Representative Boards, nearly 1,300 worship facilities, mainly concentrated in the South, and more than 30,000 followers" [5] live overseas. Thus, with that great potential, Cao Dai religion has become a valuable resource in social development in the South in particular and in building and protecting the homeland in general. There have been many domestic and foreign scientists with many research projects on issues related to the influence of Cao Dai on historical, political, cultural and social aspects in general, including including the work: "The Caodai: The politics of a Vietnamese syncretic religious movement" (Cao Dai: Politics in Vietnam of a synthetic religious movement), this is the 1981 doctoral thesis of author Werner Jayne Susan at Yale University, Southeast Asia studies, America; "The Caodai: A new religious movement" (Cao Dai: A new religious movement) by author Sergei Blagov, this is an expansion of the author's doctoral thesis at the Ethnology Sub-Institute of the Academy. Soviet Science in 1991; or the book: "Cao Dai religion - Two aspects of history and religion", Religion Publishing House - 2014 by Nguyen Thanh Xuan; topic: "CaoDaism in the South Community life and cultural characteristics" PhD thesis in Cultural Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh - 2015, by Nguyen Manh Tien; topic: "Cultural value of CaoDaism in Southern life" PhD thesis in Cultural Studies, at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics - 2017, by Dinh Quang Tien...
Most of the above-mentioned works have fully approached the historical and cultural values of Cao Dai religion, or evoked Cao Dai values in people's life in general, which at the same time have not yet existed. , or there are very few studies on the resources of Cao Dai religion in socio-economic development, especially analyzed and approached from the perspective of religious philosophy.
The content of this article contributes to identifying the resource values that Cao Dai religion brings in economic, cultural and social development from the perspective of religious theory to real life. Using methods of analysis, document research and synthesis of actual data sources (interviews, surveys...), interactive relationships will be clearly shown. Through that, it helps us have a more general and objective view of the spirit of "entering the human world - serving others" that Cao Dai followers practice, and that is considered a resource of religion to the community, contributing to the process of building and developing the country's economy and society.
1. General overview of religious resources in Vietnam
It can be said that since its inception, religion has been a form of social consciousness with the function of being a spiritual compensation for people, always guiding people towards a good life, free from oppression, injustice in society. Entering the era of integration and development, the role of religion is affirmed both in economic, political, and social life as well as in culture, science, and art. With the inherent faith of the believers themselves, more than ever the voices of religions have a significant influence on the problems of today, such as war, ethnic conflicts, and terrorism. extremism, environmental pollution, climate change, epidemics... This clearly shows us that the social function of religion does not stop at guiding people to the ideal goal of liberating their minds. soul in life, but it also helps people achieve good things in their social position; through many practical activities such as: charity activities contributing to ensuring social security, to propagating and educating on lifestyle ethics, actively participating in protecting the natural environment, and supporting vocational training, healing...
Returning to the situation in our country, Vietnam is a multi-religious country, folk beliefs and religions are always an indispensable spiritual need of a part of the people and people of all religions. is identified as a key part, in the great national unity bloc and will exist with the nation. Statistics show that by 2023, the state government has recognized "43 organizations belonging to 16 different religions, with over 26.5 million followers, accounting for more than 27% of the country's population, over 53,000 people." dignitaries, nearly 135,000 positions, about 29,658 places of worship. In addition, every year in our country there are over 8,000 belief and religious festivals attracting tens of thousands of domestic and foreign believers to participate. The Party and State of Vietnam always encourage and create conditions for religious organizations and individuals to participate in charity activities, social security, and community health care with over 800 social protection establishments. association, 500 medical examination and treatment facilities, with nearly 300 preschools and vocational schools..." [6, p. 90].
In the 5-year period (2017-2022), there are "about 25 active religious newspapers and magazines, which have licensed the publication of 2,027 publications with more than 7 million copies, including many publications. translated into many foreign languages such as English, French, Chinese, and a local ethnic language such as (Khmer, Cham, Tay, Thai...)" [7, p. 2]. The number of dignitaries, officials and followers in religious organizations holds important positions, they are beneficiaries of policies and laws on belief and religion.
For these reasons, the category "religious resources" has been popularized in Vietnam in recent years, especially when it was officially affirmed for the first time at the 13 th Congress, January 2021. of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in the congress document there is a paragraph: " Promoting good cultural values, ethics and resources of religions for the cause of national development" [2, p. 171]. Thus, at this point, the Communist Party of Vietnam has recognized that religion is also a resource contributing to national development, promoting the resources of religions is also recognized by the Vietnamese state and government. Nam institutionalizes and legislates into each specific field. In this way, religious values will be synthesized, exploited and used in the right place, bringing great efficiency.
It can be said that religions in Vietnam have never had such favorable operating conditions as they do today, in addition to increasingly expanding international relations, the number of dignitaries, positions and There are more and more religious followers, and worship facilities are increasingly being built. In addition, in our country today, the law also has
clear regulations on religious activities of foreigners in Vietnam, thereby contributing to creating conditions for religious organizations to increase exchanges and relationships. Internationally, in the 10 years (2012 - 2022), there have been nearly "2,000 religious organizations and individuals leaving the country, participating in study and training courses abroad; On the other hand, there have been more than 500 foreign delegations, with more than 3,000" [7, p. 3] people coming to Vietnam to exchange at international conferences related to religious issues.
Currently, in research in Vietnam and abroad, there are a number of approaches to religious resources in many different aspects. In Europe in the 16th century, with a series of religious reforms occurring, with the nature of bourgeoisization and democratization of the church, Protestantism was born as a source to further promote the formation of the Church. The capitalist institution in this old continent, which later spread throughout the world, exists to this day. We all know that Christian theology and Buddhist philosophy have had a great influence and influence on the existence and development of social sciences and humanities in both the East and the West. The concepts of religious ethics are highly appreciated and recognized as having the effect of educating people, bringing them to perfection in personality, through lifestyle and actions.
Religion is not separate from social life, on the contrary, religion is always involved in real life. In Eastern Asian countries, during feudal dynasties, many famous monks with virtue, wisdom and knowledge always appeared. Highly prestigious people have become talented people, they are the vitality of the nation. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, three major religions in the East in general and our country in particular, have contributed to creating a new face of an era, a nation, and a Vietnamese people rich in cultural identity. , and also full of heroic bravery. In many important political directions of the country, there is more or less profound influence from the philosophies of those religions. In addition, later religions such as Catholicism and Protestantism brought with them Western civilization and culture; or the birth of endogenous religions in the early twentieth century such as Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhism... all created a new wind blowing into contemporary Vietnamese society, causing chaos and change from lifestyle to all aspects of economic, political, cultural and social life.
Religions are currently encouraged by governments to participate in social work, but the level and scope of participation is a separate story for each country. The resources of religion that are promoted and exploited later depend greatly on the social circumstances and the will of the leadership in those countries. Resources here in general terms mean "the totality of material and spiritual forces used or capable of being used to serve the socio-economic development of a country" [9]. So in that sense, religious resources will be the totality of the material and spiritual forces of religion that can be used to serve the development first of the religion itself, then to social community development. However, there are some views that say that when talking about religion, we are talking about the cultural, spiritual, moral, and ethical values that that religion brings, so when exploiting religious resources, it also We should only approach the cultural values and good ethics of religion, and these values are abstract and difficult to quantify, but they cannot be denied.
In Vietnam from ancient times until now, when talking about religious resources, we often refer to activities such as: social security charity, helping to relieve and care for people in difficult circumstances, supporting visits to people in difficult circumstances. medical examination and treatment, propaganda, vocational education and training, employment support... These activities of religions "we can calculate with specific numbers to prove that religion is also a great resource contribute to social development" [1]. However, it must be noted that even if a religion's socially oriented activities are first of all to serve the development of that religion itself, then secondly for the sake of the religion itself. development of social community. Therefore, aware that when we "exploit religious resources, we cannot require it to be like other civil society organizations in serving society. Always remember to keep religion in its rightful place its mind" [4]. Likewise, this article will analyze and clarify the socio-economic development resources of Cao Dai religion in the South, as the endogenous religion with the strongest influence in this region.
2. CaoDaism as an economic resource for social development in the Southern
CaoDaism, full name Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do, is an endogenous religion born in 1926 in Long Trung hamlet, Long Thanh commune, Hoa Thanh district, Tay Ninh province by a number of civil servants bourgeois Landlords and founding intellectuals possess many cultural characteristics and beliefs of Southern residents. From the beginning, Cao Dai has advocated respecting the beliefs of other religions, so when it was established, it attracted thousands of people to join the religion. After nearly 100 years, this religion has rapidly developed. The number of followers and scope of influence has grown not only in a few provinces but also throughout the Southern region, spreading to the Central and Northern regions, with more than 4,000 [5] new followers joining the religion every year Cao Dai. Besides, Cao Dai religion also appears overseas in the Vietnamese community in some countries, such as Cambodia, Korea, Australia, the United States, France... According to information from the Cao Dai Overseas Mission Board, there are currently about 5 million Cao Dai followers worldwide.
Returning to the historical context of the formation and development of CaoDaism, we clearly see that the birth of CaoDaism is the convergence and crystallization of factors such as nature, geographical location, customs and society of the Southern people. In the first half of the 20th century, in the South, many new religions appeared, with the struggle movements of all classes of people with the semi-feudal colonial government ruled by the French colonialists, creating the premise for The formation and development ofreligions, has a profound influence on all aspects of the lives of residents in this land. CaoDaism is also part of that inevitable trend.
CaoDaism has a long and profound history of influence on the development process of the Southern region. In this place, Cao Dai is no longer simply a religion, but it has become a "cultural and social movement" contributing to the development of many aspects in the lives of Southern people. During the resistance war to liberate the country, the Cao Dai sects had more than "10,000 wounded soldiers, 4,000 martyrs, 400 Vietnamese heroic mothers" [3]. In addition, there
are many families who have contributed to the revolution, and individuals who are followers of the Cao Dai religion have been awarded many noble medals by the state. Therefore, when researching considering the resources of Cao Dai religion in economic and social development in the South, it is necessary to have a thorough view, not to miss the resources that this religion brings.
2.1 CaoDaism in charity and social security activities
In recent times, the value of the contribution of Cao Dai religion to socio-economic development has been clearly demonstrated first and foremost through social welfare activities such as: caring for and supporting the poor. , patients, people with disabilities, individuals facing difficult circumstances... To achieve this goal, the Cao Dai religion has established charity organizations and social programs, in order to provide Necessary services such as health care, education, food provision, and housing for those in need of support.
In addition to participating in charity activities, the Cao Dai religion also supports the poor by providing free medical services. Cao Dai religion also contributes to socio-economic development by participating in production and business activities, bringing significant material improvements to that faith, actively contributing to development. of the community. Since being recognized as an organizational legal entity, Cao Dai Churches have actively implemented social charity activities. Data compiled from reports of the Association of Blessings of Cao Dai churches in the South show that from the year (2009-2020), the total budget for charity activities during this period was 343.43 billion VND [The Cao Dai Alliance includes 16 Cao Dai churches and organizations in the Southern region. The total specific charity expenditure of these 16 units over the past 11 years is 343,436,688,583 VND], Cao Dai churches and organizations contributed 69.8 billion VND [Data are summarized from reports of the Cao Dai Liaison Sector from 2009-2020] to the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
During the 3-year period of the COVID-19 epidemic, Cao Dai churches at home and abroad have actively called on followers to contribute financially and materially to overcome the damages caused by the pandemic, step by step contributing to the cause of the pandemic. with the government ensuring good people's lives, including: Tay Ninh Cao Dai Church contributed more than 167 billion VND; Cao Dai Tien Thien Church in Ben Tre is about 70.6 billion VND; Other organizations and congregations such as: Ban Chinh Dao, Minh Chon Dao, Bach Y, Chon Ly, Minh Chon Dao, Chieu Minh Tam Thanh Vo Vi, Cau Kho Tam Quan... contributed to charity work during the period. This time from 25 billion to over 50 billion VND [Data compiled from reports of Phuoc Vien of Cao Dai churches in the South in 2016, 2027, 2018, 2019 and the first 3 quarters of 2020]. During the 3 years of the COVID-19 epidemic, the entire religion has actively contributed total funds from Cao Dai churches and organizations amounting to over 229 billion VND [8, p. 33]. In addition, the amount of materials, vehicles, medicine, etc. mobilized by churches worth tens of billions of dong is not yet mentioned.
The Cao Dai tradition of serving humanity has great resource value in caring for and supporting disadvantaged people in society through forms such as: distributing charity gifts and providing material support, prevention Free medicine, funeral assistance... Giving charity gifts and material support, this is the regular work of the Cao Dai religion to contribute to helping difficult families or sick people undergoing treatment. in hospitals. Charity fruit is given out on holidays or whenever the social community encounters natural disasters or epidemics... In addition, every month religious establishments also organize charity meals for people in difficult circumstances. Due to social difficulties, in big cities, Cao Dai religion often opens vegetarian restaurants to serve dignitaries and followers, and at the same time, improve the material life structure of the religious community. During major festivals, the Cao Dai religion organizes a free vegetarian feast to welcome guests and all members of the community to contribute to sharing the spirit of "serving humanity" of the Cao Dai religion.
Regarding the free herbal medicine clinic, this is considered the most typical charity activity of the Cao Dai religion. Most of the Holy Houses and Holy Pure Lands of the Cao Dai sects have charitable herbal medicine clinics to support free examination, treatment and medicine distribution to people in the living area and in neighboring places. . Cao Dai followers call this the charity medicine room and the above actions are called acts of kindness. At these blessed medicine clinics, there are doctors with experience and knowledge of medicinal properties, most of whom are followers of the Cao Dai sect. All worthy of respect and recognition is the devotion of the believers to practice the religion to help their lives. In order to maintain the Phuoc Thien medicine clinic, believers in the religion work together to find and exploit medicinal plants in the area and outside. In addition, they also contribute funds to buy rare medicines to treat patients with dangerous and incurable diseases. Patients who come for examination are free of charge, and sometimes even receive accommodation support if they live far away.
Next is the activity of helping with burials, this is also a regular activity of the Cao Dai religion. For bereaved families facing difficult circumstances, the religious community will take care of it in accordance with religious rituals, and will also provide free coffins and other necessary items for funerals and funerals. We would like to reiterate that the above-mentioned charity activities do not necessarily involve religious people, non-religious communities are also treated equally as religious people. In addition to the three main forms of charity activities above, followers of Cao Dai church sects also carry out many other volunteer works such as: building charity houses, supporting ambulances to pick up people. disaster, building and calling for contributions to the studious fund.
2.2 CaoDaism in productive labor, cooperative economic development and new rural construction
Returning to current life, for many years, Cao Dai religious organizations in the South have promoted the nation's precious traditions and actively mobilized followers to participate in economic and social development activities. , charity, humanitarian... join hands to build the homeland, strictly comply with the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's legal policies. Cao Dai religion encourages followers to both practice and actively participate in productive labor. Through
production and service models, especially cooperative economics, the lives of Cao Dai followers are increasingly was raised and played an important role in religious solidarity in the South.
Over the past time, Cao Dai people in the South have always been excited, confident in the leadership role of the Party, the management of local authorities, participating in religious activities in accordance with the law, and actively working. production, diversifying occupations, improving family economics. Currently, the lives of Cao Dai followers are increasingly developing, with many households operating economically effectively, earning hundreds of millions of dong/year. Typically, Mr. Trinh Van Lau's family, group 4, U Minh town, U Minh district, Ca Mau province, is one of the long-time followers of Cao Dai religion. Mr. Trinh Van Lau shared: "Before starting a shrimp farm, my family only had 4 square meters of land to grow rice, and the economy was very difficult. But since shrimp farming until now, the economy has developed more and more, I can feed my children and save money to buy more land to build a square. Up to now, my family has about 100 acres of land for extensive shrimp and crab farming, earning over 200 million VND per year" [Quote from reporter, Trinh Van Lau, 61 years old, in Ca Mau province, 2021].
In recent years, the collective economy and cooperatives (Cooperatives) have been regularly focused on strengthening and innovating in organization and operation by Cao Dai followers in the South. Cooperatives and cooperative groups have gradually affirmed themselves as an important factor in economic and social development in the area, contributing to creating jobs and income for local workers. Cao Dai religions and followers always well implement the Party and State's policies on economic development, joining hands with Party committees and local authorities to build collective economic models and cooperatives. do business effectively. Typically in Tay Ninh province, where more than 70% of the population are followers of the Cao Dai religion, up to now there are 145 cooperatives in the entire province, operating diversely in the fields of agriculture, industry, commerce, services, environmental sanitation, handicrafts, transportation, credit with more than 40 thousand members and nearly 250 billion VND [9] in charter capital.
Next, the Cao Dai people in the Southern region have successfully implemented the movement to build new rural areas. Over the past 10 years (2012-2022), the income growth rate of rural people in the Southern region has been faster. compared to the income growth rate of urban people, contributing to shortening the income gap between rural and urban areas. Many district-level units have been recognized by the Prime Minister as meeting new rural standards (NTM). In productive labor, Cao Dai followers perform labor exchange, labor exchange, and support each other in labor. During the process of practicing, Cao Dai followers are always conscious of the social community and launch a movement to emulate production labor to build new rural areas, enrich society, and contribute to the lives of practitioners. The practice becomes meaningful and beneficial to society, affecting the ethics and lifestyle of Southern residents.
Many parishes and parishes have had no drug addicts or social evils for many years. The self-management model of security and order among religious believers has been implemented seriously and effectively. Many Cao Dai followers participate in the production linkage model along the value chain such as "Large Sample Field", value chain, vegetables, seafood... bringing many positive effects, the value of agricultural production is not stop lifting. From there, create conditions to improve income, material and spiritual life for people. As a member of Phu Thanh Agricultural Cooperative, Phu Tan district, An Giang province, Mr. Ly Van Hau, a longtime Cao Dai follower, always believes in the "good life, beautiful religion" lifestyle. He regularly participates in propaganda for parishioners to actively participate in movements and activities organized by the locality to strengthen religious solidarity. Mr. Hau shared: "Building new rural areas is to beautify the village, family, and society, so building new rural areas is the responsibility of the entire people" [Quote from reporter, Ly Van Hau, 56 years old, in An Giang province, 2021].
2.3 CaoDaism in developing religious tourism
Awakening the potential of religious tourism is also a highly effective resource for Cao Dai followers in developing current socio-economic life. The holy buildings and holy shrines of all Cao Dai churches in the South have their own unique characteristics and have great tourism potential value. Typically, Tay Ninh Holy See is a unique architectural work. This place has long been one of the places that attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists. Professor Thai Tho Thanh, Head of the Cao Dai Church Representative Board of Tay Ninh Holy See, shared: "Tourists can visit Tay Ninh Holy See at any time of the day, but should choose the ceremony time (usually 12 noon). This is the time for everyone to admire the entire solemn ritual of Cao Dai friends. Besides, visitors can go to the upper floor of the building to take panoramic photos of the interior of the main area" [Excerpt from PVS, Professor. Thai Tho Thanh, 73 years old, in Tay Ninh province, 2021]. The Holy See is an attractive destination that monks from all over the world come to admire and worship. It is truly a unique cultural and religious tourist destination, imbued with the national spirit of the people living on this land.
Currently, life in all aspects, especially socio-economic aspects, of Cao Dai people has improved a lot compared to before. Typically, it must be mentioned that Hoa Thanh district, Tay Ninh province, this is where the headquarters of Tay Ninh Cao Dai Church is located, the entire district currently has more than 500 [Vietnam Cooperative Alliance, Cao Dai followers in the South join hands to build the homeland (Article 3): Awakening the potential of religious tourism, Publishing license No. 139/GP-BTTTT issued on March 4, 2021] businesses and cooperatives, and the majority of business owners are followers of the Cao Dai religion, some followers have established travel and tourism companies. Every year, these businesses together with local authorities create favorable conditions to take care of job creation and economic development for people, as well as perform charity and social security work well. helping individuals and families in the community who are in difficult circumstances.
Comments and Conclusion
In general, in the coming time, Cao Dai religion will continue to grow stronger in both the number of followers and scope of activities, thus ensuring the good use of Cao Dai religion's resources to contribute to development. society in
Vietnam in general, and the Southern region in particular, is a very meaningful matter. It can be seen that the value of resources that Cao Dai religion contributes to economic and cultural development through material and spiritual potential is not small for society in the South. All of this speaks to the value that religion brings in building social ethical standards, preserving and promoting indigenous culture, ensuring good charity work, social security, helping in difficulties, eliminating hunger and reducing poverty, actively participating in production and economic development, wishing to bring happiness to every home and everyone.
The Southern is a multi-religious land, in which each religion has its own resources that contribute to building economic and social life. The same is true of CaoDaism, the resources of this religion have some beneficial roles in economic and social development. Therefore, it is necessary to view religious resources as a positive factor in that development process. Entering a new era of integration and development, more than ever we need to have solutions to better preserve and promote religious resources, including CaoDaism, so that this religion can do better, available resources, contributing to building a rich, beautiful and prosperous country. Worthy of the religious guiding principle of "Glory Country - Bright Religion" that millions of Cao Dai followers aim for, in the spirit of patriotism, love of religion, serving the fatherland, preserving the purity of religion, contributing to the development of religion, general development of community and society.
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