On the basis of theoretical and practical research on state management of religious activities, the thesis proposes a number of solutions to SMRA in accordance with the law, implementing good policies of the Party and laws of the State in Vietnam today.
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION HA NGOC ANH STATE MANAGEMENT FOR RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN VIETNAM TODAY Fielld of study: Public Administration Management Code: 62 34 82 01 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGEMENT HA NOI - 2019 The work is completed at: NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Scientific supervisor: Prof PhD Do Quang Hung Ass.Prof PhD Hoang Van Chuc Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: The thesis is protected in the presence of the Academy-level Thesis Review Council Location: Meeting room - Building A - National Academy of Public Administration No.: 77 - Nguyen Chi Thanh Road - Dong Da District - Hanoi Time: At … o’clock … day … month year 2019 This thesis can be found at the National Library of Vietnam or Library of National Academy of Public Administration PREFACE The urgency of the thesis Vietnam is a multi-religious nation At present, religious followers in Vietnam account for a large proportion of 25.3 million (27% of the population) being an important force in the mass unity of the entire people to build, protect and develop the socialist country of Vietnam [117] In Vietnam, since its inception, religion has always played an important role in the political, cultural and spiritual life of society, associated with the nation and serving the national interests throughout the history of building and protecting the country Religion is a delicate, sensitive and complex issue Therefore, addressing issues arising from religion needs to be done in a very careful and accurate manner; both demanding to maintain the principles, in accordance with the law, at the same time to be flexible and soft under Ho Chi Minh's ideology and the Party's viewpoint: Respect the rights to freedom of beliefs and faith of the people; Every citizen following religion isequal before the law State management of religious activities (SMRA) shall meet the requirements: both legally and rationally addressing the legitimate and legal belief needs of the people, but shall timely fight against every conspiracy and plots of exploiting religions to fight against the government, undermining national security State management for religious activities in recent years has obtained quite important results However, the reality of the state management renovation for religious activities still has many inadequacies that need to be revised, supplemented and replaced in accordance with the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization and international integration Research on SMRA not only performs well the state management of religion but also contributes to perfecting the laws of the socialist rule-oflaw state Therefore, I choose a research topic: “State management of religious activities in Vietnam today” as a doctoral thesis on Public Administration Management Research purposes and tasks 2.1 Research purposes On the basis of theoretical and practical research on state management of religious activities, the thesis proposes a number of solutions to SMRA in accordance with the law, implementing good policies of the Party and laws of the State in Vietnam today 2.2 Research tasks To achieve this goal, the thesis has the following tasks: Firstly, overview of the domestic and foreign studies on the contents of state management for religious activities to determine the research implementation direction of the thesis Secondly, clarify the rationale of state management of religious activities in Vietnam Thirdly, analyze the state management practices for religious activities in Vietnam Fourthly, propose solutions to ensure state management of religious activities in Vietnam in the coming time Research object and scope of the thesis 3.1 Research object State management of religious activities, specifically including the institutional regulations, implementation organization and state agencies’ management process of religious activities in Vietnam today 3.2 Research scope In respect of time: The thesis studies on the state management of religious activities in Vietnam from 1986 up to now In respect of space: The thesis studies on state management of religious activities in the Vietnamese territory Methodology and research method of thesis Methodology The thesis uses the methods of dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Marxist-Leninist philosophy and Ho Chi Minh's thought on religious work and state management of religious activities 4.2 Research method of thesis To implement the content of the thesis, the author uses the following specific research methods: Methods of analysis and synthesis; method of descriptive statistics; method of induction, interpretation; Besides, the author also uses the method of information collection, sociological survey and investigation, etc New scientific contributions of the thesis 5.1 New theoretical contributions Firstly, the thesis clarifies and deepens the theoretical issues of state management of religious activities Secondly, the thesis clarifies the content of state management of religious activities; studies on state management experience in religious activities of some countries in the world and reference values for Vietnam 5.2 New practical contribution Firstly, the thesiscontributes to changing awareness and actions, responsibilities of leaders, managers and managers in the state management process of religious activities Secondly, the thesis analyzes and interprets the process of formation and development of religions in Vietnam, the current legal provisions, the actual state management practices for religious activities; assess the current status of SMRA in Vietnam today so that leaders and managers have a general view of this field Thirdly, the thesis proposes solutions to strengtheningSMRA in Vietnam, in accordance with international practices, creating conditions for religions to operate in line with the Party and policies and the law of the State Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis Research results of the thesis are important additions to the development of state management activities on religion, contributing to raising the theoretical awareness about the role of state agencies in management of religious activities The thesis is used as a material in teaching and learning the Subject of religion Studiesin the system of institutes, universities or making reference materials in teaching at professional training and fostering classes for cadresengaged in religious and civil affairs and mass-mobilization organizations at all levels and for officials and public employees performing tasks in the religious field Research questions From the “gap” of related research works, the Ph.D student identifies the research questions of the thesis, including: 1) What is the content of state management ofreligious activities in Vietnam? What are the state management of religious activities in Vietnam? 2) What are the current state management practices of religious activities in Vietnam? 3) What are the views, directions and solutions to strengthen SMRA in Vietnam in the coming time? Research hypothesis Hypothesis If the State does not manage the activities of religions, it will affect socio-economic development and national security, social order and safety, culture and values of society Hypothesis The enhancement of state management of religious activities facilitates people to exercise their freedom of belief through measures and tools of state management; at the same time strictly handling activities of making use of religion, affecting national security, social order and safety; contribute to implementing the Party's views on religious people However, state management of religious activities still shows many shortcomings and limitations that not meet the practical requirements Composition of the thesis In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, List of references and Appendices, the thesis is structured in chapters: Chapter Overview of the research situation related to the thesis Chapter Theoretical basis for state management of religious activities Chapter Practices in state management of religious activities in Vietnam today Chapter Viewpoints, directions and solutions to strengthen SMRA in Vietnam in the coming time Chapter OVERVIEW ON THE RESEARCH RELATING TO THE THESIS Currently, researches on SMRA have been mentioned by many researchers, but each workrefers to a different aspect Overview of research situation relates to the thesis topic in groups (Group of research works on state management theory for religious activities; Group of studies on actual reality of state management for religious activities and group of research projects on state management solutions for religious activities), the thesis points out the problems that have been solved and the values need to be inherited, including: Firstly, most of the first group of researches are in-depth research on issues such as: laws on religion, position and roles of religion in social life, and the influence of Buddhism on social life, etc., but not mentioning on the content of state management of religious activities Therefore, solutions and policy implications of this group of projects also focus on improving the efficiency instate management of religious activities in the coming time Secondly, the research works of the second group have analyzed and evaluated the implementation of policies on religious activities and practices of some religions in Vietnam, the new context of national and international religions that have impacts on Vietnamese religions, social management issues on religion, and asks and questions on some strange religions in Vietnam, etc On the other hand, due to different times of study, different socio-economic contexts and especially different research methods and approaches, the evaluation and analysis of state management in religious activities in Vietnam also have different points Thirdly, the group of research works on solutions for state management solutions in religious activities This group of works deeply analyzes the law on religious activities, the Party's viewpoint on religion and current religious issues and some articles with relevant contents However, these works have not studied on solutions to improve state management efficiency in religious activities in perspective of the state management Since then, the thesis identifies gaps to be directed to clarify and follow up research directions that the thesis implements, including: Firstly, continue to clarify some theoretical issues on state management of religious activities, state management methods of religious activities, content of state management on religion More importantly, the thesis continues research to form the basic theoretical framework on current state management for religious activities Secondly, the research worksas summarized above not have any research giving an overview assessment on the state management of religious activities The thesis continues to study the status of SMRA agencies in the fields, objectively assessing the status of this work management Thirdly, the thesis proposes solutions to strengthen state management of religious activities Chapter THEORETICAL GROUNDS OF STATE MANAGEMENT TO THE RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES Chapter of the thesis presents the following contents: Concepts, religious characteristics and state management for religious activities; Contents, methods and principles of state management for religious activities; Factors affecting the state management of religious activities; State management experience for religious activities of some countries in the world and reference values for Vietnam 2.1 Concepts, characteristics of religion and state management of religious activities Religion is the belief of people in supernatural, invisible, sacred forces, intuitively accepted and interacted in a fictional way, to explain the worldly problems as well as in the afterlife ones That belief is manifested in a variety of ways, depending on different historical periods, cultural geographic circumstances, depending on the content of each religion, which is operated by different rituals and teachings, religious activities of different religious communities and societies State management of religious activities is the mode of operation conducted by state agencies, organizations or individuals to ensure the management of religion be performed in line with guidelines, policies, laws, regulations on religious activities to serve the construction and socioeconomic development of the country associated with the stabilityin sociopolitics and people's life Religion has the following common characteristics: Religion is a product of social development at a certain level; religion is a world of spirituality, it is invisible and fuzzy, but unconscious, instinct and almost eliminates the reason, the science; religion is an area that expresses the power of the gods to escape the power of society, but in fact religion is always associated with society, directly or indirectly related to politics and society; religion in its original nature is humane, wants to liberate the human souls from the attachment of the world; religion always wants to exist forever, asserts itself as a world of eternity, but in fact religion is a form of social awareness; religion always wants to develop in the direction of becoming a world power so it is spread, evangelized widely and is also believed and followed by people in many countries around the world The religion of Vietnam has the following characteristics: Firstly, the majority of religious followers in Vietnam are farmers and come from farmers Secondly, there are religions that only present in a minority, but the history of the nation's formation and development in the past used to have a sensitive, national or territorial issues Thirdly, religions in Vietnam have a large number of dignitaries; carefully selected from religious communities; trained in scale and proper methodologyat religious establishments domestically and abroad; have a full economic life and a prosperous material life, able to meet the religious needs of believers Fourthly, the religions in Vietnam have a wide international relationship with all the world's religions Fifthly, the religions in Vietnam have a wide international relationship with all the world's religions Sixthly, religion is always an area where the forces hostile to Vietnam seek to exploit and take advantage to oppose the Vietnamese revolution through every period of national development 2.2 Contents, methods and principles of state management of religious activities: Firstly, develop policies and promulgate legal documents on belief and religion Secondly, formulate regulations on organization of state management apparatus on belief and religion Thirdly, organize the implementation of policies and laws on belief and religion Religious activities for the benefit of the Fatherland and the People are encouraged All acts of violating the rights to freedom of belief and religion, taking advantage of beliefs and religions to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, preventing believers from performing their civic obligations, undermining the people unity, harming the healthy culture of the nation and superstitious activities are condemned and sanctioned by law 2.3 Factors affecting state management of religious activities Factors affecting state management of religious activities include: Political factors, legal documents on religious activities, state management apparatus on religious activities, capacity and qualifications of the contingent of cadres and civil servants, bad forces outside take advantage of religion, foreign relations and international cooperation 2.4 State management experience in religious activities of some countries in the world and reference values for Vietnam The thesis studies state management experience for religious activities of countries: China, Japan and the United States From there, draw lessons on state management for religious activities of Vietnam, including: Firstly, there must be proper awareness and agreement on the Party and State's guidelines and policies in the new situation Secondly, there must be a plan and strategy for the state management of religious activities in line with each locality Thirdly, the organization of the apparatus and the contingent of religious workers ensure both quantity and quality Fourthly, the coordination between the agencies and agencies in the mobilization of mass followers must be associated with the work of economic, cultural and social development for the people, especially in the areas of people with religion Fifthly, dealing with religious situations must be conducted through mass mobilization and enlistment of religious cadres Promptly praising positive followers and simultaneously resolving the law firmly against illegal religious activities 11 Chapter CURRENT STATUS OF STATE MANAGEMENT OF THE RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN VIETNAM TODAY 3.1 Overview and current status of religious activities in Vietnam 3.1.1 The process of formation and development of religions in Vietnam Vietnam is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation, followers of religions in Vietnam have a high demand in religious activities, especially the religious activities of the community with a festive nature Religion in Vietnam has been formed and developed in association with the process of country building up and protection of the Vietnamese people and is often constituted by three factors: the system of doctrine and canon law; worship rituals; religious organization with clergy force and followers; material facilities for religious activities 3.1.2 The number, distribution and operation of religions in Vietnam According to the report of the Government Committee for Religions, in 2003, there were about 17.4 million followers in the whole country, accounting for 21.8% of the population, 15 state-recognized religious organizations belonging to religions (Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestant, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Islam) As of 12/2018, there were 42 religious organizations and one religious approach of 15 religions recognized and granted religious registration certificates by the State, with about 25.3 million followers, making up 27% of the population (up 35% compared to that in 2003), 60,799 dignitaries (up 65%), 133,662 job titles (up 69%); 27,916 worship places (up 33%) [10] 3.1.3 The relationship between religion and ethnicity The relationship between ethnicity and religion is expressed in many different forms, depending on the approach aspect However, every approachis found that the movement and transformation of religions are closely related to the movement and transformation of ethnic issues; on the 12 contrary, the existence of the ethnic community is also closely linked to a certain religion The relationship between religion and ethnicity through the main axis of Home - Village - Country creates a stronghold This is also the way to transform a culture built on the spirit of patriotism into a religious consciousness, taking the religious consciousness to consolidate the spirit of patriotism [59, p.45] From prehistoric times in Vietnam when the nation as a ethnic nation was formed, at the same time ethnic and religious relations were established This relationship is an important and solid foundation to absorb and receive exogenous religions spread into our country later 3.1.4 Current status of religious activities in Vietnam Over the past few years, religious activities of followers and dignitaries have taken place normally within the legal framework; great ceremonies attract many followers; training and retraining for dignitaries in religions are focused in the direction of increasing the number of enrollments, expanding the type of training However, due to the impact of globalization and the market economy , inadequate management, lack of synchronization of some functional agencies and the abuse of religion by hostile forces, religious activities also reveal some limitations, negativity, direct impact to the religious life and social life in our country, specifically as follows: Firstly, about religion: Enhancing ostentatious, formal, heavy economic activities, lightly studying and guiding practitioners to practice; internal contradictions in some religious organizations still exist, sometimes, there are harsh places; The management of churches and the management of dignitaries in a number of religious organizations is not in accordance with the rules and regulations approved by competent state agencies Secondly, about security and religious order: The status of complaints and complaints about land and religious worship facilities is always high The contents of complaints and 13 grievances related to land, property and religious worship facilities always account for a large proportion in the contents of the letter, the nature of the cases is also more complicated Religious activities contrary to the law: The status of ordained dignitaries or self-proclaimed reductions, especially the number of Catholic priests and pastors, evangelizes in Protestant denominations has been recognized by the State on organization These objects often have extreme attitudes About internal conflicts of religious organizations: Due to personal interests or disagreement on the direction of religion, leading to internal conflicts of some religious organizations complicated Superstitious and superstitious activities tend to increase in some religious establishments, especially in Buddhist institutions Activities of religions in ethnic areas contain many complex factors New religious phenomena, strange virtues, evil religion take advantage of spiritual issues, weave supernatural forces to gather forces to fight against the government, destabilize security and order 3.2 State management practices in religious activities in Vietnam The thesis examines the reality of state management of religious activities in Vietnam in groups of inputs and groups of output factors Group of inputs of state management for religious activities in Vietnam include: Formulating policies, issuing legal documents on beliefs and religions; organizing the state management apparatus on religious affairs, the training and retraining of cadres and civil servants engaged in religious and policy work The group of output elements of state management for religious activities in Vietnam includes the settlement of houses related to religion and the inspection and examination of religious activities 3.3 Assessing the state management status of religious activities in Vietnam today 14 3.3.1 Achievements and reasons 3.3.1.1 Achievements Firstly, change the basic awareness among the Party committees, Party organizations and authorities at all levels on religion and state management of religious activities Secondly, renovation and consolidation in the leadership, direction and SMRA has been performed regularly and continuously Thirdly, on organizational apparatus and professional training and fostering in religious affairs, it is regularly strengthened, consolidated and taken care of by Party committees and authorities Fourthly, propaganda on the Party's guidelines and policies, State policies and laws on religion and religious affairs has been enhanced Fifthly, international cooperation in religion has been strengthened and expanded Sixthly, inspection and examination works are renewed and strengthened 3.3.1.2 Reasons of achievements Firstly, because our Party and State have guidelineson renewing policies onreligions, at the same time, set out the correct socio-economic development guidelines and people's hearts Secondly, propaganda and dissemination of policies and laws on religion for officials, dignitaries, followers of religions are well organized Thirdly, religious officials have been regularly fostered and improved in qualification Fourthly, all levels and branches have complied with the law provisions in dealing with violations of the policy on freedom of belief and religion Fifthly, the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations at the grassroots have been gradually strengthened, especially in areas with a large number of religious people 15 3.3.2 Shortcomings, limitations and causes 3.3.2.1 Shortcomings and limitations Firstly, the system of legal documents related to religious activities is still insufficient Secondly, the organization of the state management apparatus and the contingent of religious workers are inadequate, the religious officials are still not so qualified Thirdly, in some places, the training, fostering and planning of officials working on religious affairs have not been paid adequate attention Fourthly, in some places, the inspection and examination are still not conducted much or improperly conducted 3.3.2.2 The cause of limitations Firstly, a number of party committees, party organizations, authorities, functional agencies and departments and a proportion of party members are not fully aware of the Party's guidelines and policies, line and State law on religion and religious affairs in the current situation Secondly, the state management on religion is still slow in innovation, lack of synchronization, and in some cases, and particularly, in some localities, management is poor, resulting a situation where religion is overtaking the local government Thirdly, a number of guidelines and policies on religion have not been synchronous and timely, causing embarrassment for localities, in the process of handling Fourthly, the organizingsystem of the state management apparatus on religion has not been unified Fifth, the planning, training and fostering of cadres and civil servants engaged in religious work have not been given adequate attention 16 Sixthly, the management of religious relations is still not strict, there appear many weak points for the religions to make use of Seventhly, the propaganda, dissemination and deployment of legal documents related to beliefs and religions are not frequent and far-reaching to the people, especially religiousfollowers and religious dignitaries Chapter ORIENTATION AND SOLUTIONS FOR STRENGTHENING THE STATEMENT MANAGEMENT OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN VIETNAM IN THE COMING TIME 4.1 Forecasting religious situation and religious activities in our country in the coming time 4.1.1 The development trend of Vietnamese religion affects state management of religious activities The trend of globalization is affecting every aspect of social life, including religion The movement, transformation and development of religion in Vietnam also not separate that impact with specific development trends: The trend of secularization, the trend of religious diversification and modern trends religious chemistry, religious ethnicization trends, new religious trends 4.1.2 Issues raised in state management for religious activities in our country today Mastering the Party's views and policies on religious affairs and religious affairs tasks in the new situation, thoroughly grasping the State's policies and laws in adjusting religious activities and thesis determine issues raised in state management for religious activities in our country today, including: 17 Improving the effectiveness of propaganda and dissemination, informing the audience about new trends of religion Religious workers need to strengthen the practice, stick with the grassroots level, with people with religion and religious dignitaries 4.2 Viewpoints and orientations to strengthen SMRA in Vietnam 4.2.1 Point of view Beliefs and religions are spiritual needs of a part of people, are and will exist with the nation in the process of building up socialism in our country People of religions are part of the great unity block of the nation Consistently implementing the policy of respecting and ensuring freedom of belief, following or not following a religion, the rights to normal religious activities in accordance with the law Religions operate within the framework of law and are equal before the law In the process of completion, the authorities need to conduct seminars to get comments of dignitaries, monks and religious intellectuals All their contributions are listened to and researched if they are percieved to be reasonable and correct, they must be received and added to the text 4.2.2 Orientation Direction to strengthen the State management for religious activities in Vietnam is determined by the Thesis as follows: Religious work is the responsibility of an entire political system, in which the role of the State is the center; Core content of religious work is mass mobilization; To bring into play the role of each concerned ministry and branch in management for each field of religious organizations and individuals; Combining the State management on religion and implementing the ethnic policies 4.3 Solutions to strengthen SMRA in Vietnam in the coming time 18 The thesis proposes groups of solutions to enhance the State management for religious activities in Vietnam in the following period with specific solutions as follows: Solutions according to the State management process, including specific solutions: Solution of mechanism, law, policies on belief and religion; Solution of organizational apparatus, training and improving the religious personnel; Solution of propaganda and dissemination of legal education for religious activities; Inspecting, examining, settling complaints and denunciations and handling violations of religion law Solutions relate to the religious activities, including specific solutions: Regarding religiou foreign affairs; Solution improves the material and spiritual life of religious people; Solution for land and worship facilities of religions; Solution on coordination in management, training, ordination and appointment of religious dignitaries; Solution on prevention of illegal evangelism; Creating conditions for religious organizations to follow the charter and regulations of religious organizations recognized by the State in accordance with the law Other solutions with two specific solutions: Raising awareness about religious work; Promote activities of the Fatherland Front and sociopolitical organizations 4.4 Recommendations and Proposals 4.4.1 For the central level Continuously, building and completing policies and law on beliefs and religions in accordance with viewpoint of the Party, policies and law of the State on beliefs and religions Currently, the Law on Beliefs, Religions and Decree on guiding to implement the law is available to help the State management in the field of religion to be synchronized and convenient; it 19 is recommended that the Government early directs to issue the decree on penalties for administrative violations in the field of religion The Government continues to direct the research to build and consolidate the apparatus which implement the State management on religion from the Central to grassroots levels according to the model which has been implemented as before, that is: Central level is the Governmental Committee for Religious Affairs, the ministerial-level agencies directly under the Government, Head of the Religion Department is the Deputy Head of the Central Commission for Mass Mobilization At the provincial level, the Religion Committee or (Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Religion or the Committee for Religions and Ethnic Minorities) is directly under the Provincial People's Committee, the Head is Deputy Head of the Provincial Commission for Public Relations Ministry of Home Affairs continues to study and promulgate the Circular on regulating the workforce, policies and standards for cadres who engaged in religious work to help localities facilitate in planning, training, retraining and using with high efficiency 4.4.2 For the provincial level People's Committee of the provinces and cities continue to study, arrange and consolidate the apparatus organization and workforce for religious affairs at all levels and branches to be suitable with local practices Put forth the instructions to consolidate the Management Board of temples and pagodas, ensuring the orientation and direction of the authorities at all levels and at the same time having the representative of the local authorities directly participating in the Management Board Check and supervise the sources of revenues and expenditures at temples 20 and pagodas to avoid complaints about revenues and expenditures at these establishments as at present Building the appropriate mechanisms, specific regulations on using revenue sources, especially for charity work or social welfare fund To intensify the inspection and examination of establishments, especially worshiping places of religions, where should be regularly checked and supervised the construction progress in order for religious architectural works to be in line with the approved design and planning Every year, opening the training courses, improving the legal knowledge as well as professional knowledge of beliefs and religions for full-time officials and Party committee, authorities, unions, especially communes, wards and towns where have many religious and religious activities The Party Committees and authorities need to pay attention to the mobilization and timely rewarding religious dignitaries to follow the guidelines of the Party and the State's policies and laws, and many achievements in the movement, local revolution At the same time, there are effective measures to prevent illegal acts of evangelization and instigate lay people to destabilize the political situation, social order and safety in the locality CONCLUSION During the process of revolutionary leadership, our Party and State have always determined that religious work is a strategic issue with very important significance Belief and religion are the spiritual needs of a part of the people Religious ethics has many things in line with the construction of new society Being aware of the importance of religious work, over the past years, our Party and State have issued many directives, resolutions and 21 policies on beliefs and religions so as to meetthe legitimate aspirations of fellow citizens The religion, material and spiritual life of the people has been improved, thepeople of religions have increasingly believed in the Party's innovative way of “good in both life and religion”, eagerly emulated in production activities, developed a great unity block Vietnam is a multi-religious country Religion is a sensitive phenomenon, based on the strength of faith Therefore, the study on the basic contents of the characteristics and development trends of religion in general and the religions in Vietnam in particular is indispensible in the state management Thereby, it is possible and necessary to work out positive and effective solutions Therefore, the religious work from the central to local levels poses many issues that need to be considered, in which, well performing the state management on religion is making contributions to bringing religious activities into order and stability, complying with the law, thereby fighting to prevent the conspiracy of taking advantage of religions by hostile forces State management of religion is the general management of religious relations in a system, the organization of implementing the Party and the State's religious policies to respect the rights to freedom, belief and religion of a part of the people, perfoming the great unity of the entire people, promoting the positive aspects of belief and religion Our Party and State always thoroughly grasp, implement the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's thought about religion, which are: “Freedom of religious belief and freedom of non-religious belief and requesting that all religious activities shall comply with the Constitution and the law, every citizen, religious person and non-religious 22 person are equal before the law, are responsible for building and protecting the Country However, the religion is a complex and sensitive issue, so the process of resolving and dealing with religious issues should not “subjective, impatient, simple”, but it is necessary to distinguish clearly between belief - spirituality and the problem of being used by evil guys, to have a proper attitude and right behavior All negligence, subjectiveness, impatientness or simplicity in dealing with beliefs and religion can lead to the risk of division, cracking the national solidarity, weakening the national power Through the research process, the thesis has solved the following contents: Firstly, the thesis clarifies the theory of religion, religious activities, State management of religious activities, contents and methods of state management in religious activities; The thesis also generalizes the rationale, legal and practical basis to improve the state management of religious activities in the direction of ensuring effectiveness, efficiency and meeting the requirements of current economic and social development; collecting, analyzing, processing information to verify the research hypotheses Research results confirm that state management of religious activities in Vietnam today plays a very important role in the period of development and international integration Secondly, the thesis also analyzes and clarifies the state management of religious activities in Vietnam today; analyzes inadequacies and limitations in state management of religious activities Thirdly, the thesis proposes a system of solutions to state management of religious activities in the coming time to ensure state management in this field 23 The research results also show that, in recent years, the state management of religious activities has achieved certain results, however, the activities of religions are currently diverse and complex, posing many challenges, requiring the efforts and joint efforts by sectors and levels to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the field of state management of religion./ 24 THE PUBLISHED WORKS OF THIS AUTHOR RELATE TO THIS THESIS’S TOPIC Ha Ngoc Anh (2017), To improve quality of the personnel, civil servants working on the State management on religion Statement Management Magazine, ISSN 0868-2828, No (253), pages 50-55 Ha Ngoc Anh (2016), State management solution on religious foreign affairs in Vietnam Statement Management Magazine, ISSN 0868-2828, No 12 (251), pages 31-36 Ha Ngoc Anh (2011) Statement management for religious activities from two aspects: theory and practice State Management Magazine, ISSN 0868-2828, No 188 (9-2011), page 43 - 25 ... state management of religious activities in Vietnam in groups of inputs and groups of output factors Group of inputs of state management for religious activities in Vietnam include: Formulating... and state management for religious activities; Contents, methods and principles of state management for religious activities; Factors affecting the state management of religious activities; State. .. and laws in adjusting religious activities and thesis determine issues raised in state management for religious activities in our country today, including: 17 Improving the effectiveness of propaganda