Protestantism among the Hmong People in the Mountainous Region of Contemporary Northern Vietnam

Abstract

Since the 1980s, there has been a considerable change in the religious life of the Hmong ethnic communities from the mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam—specifically, their conversion to Protestantism. Protestantism was introduced into the communities under a modified model known as Vàng Trứ/Vàng Chứ through the endeavors of the Far East Broadcasting Company. From 1993 to 2004, the number of Protestant followers among these communities increased sharply. Today, the mountainous northern area of Vietnam is home to 300,000 Hmong Protestants of various denominations. This study, based on textual analysis, participant observations, in-depth interviews, and field trips, seeks to explore the Hmong conversion to Protestantism. The focus is on issues relating to the growth of Protestantism and Protestant influence on the Hmong people from 1987 (widely understood to be the beginning of Protestantism in the Hmong community) to the present day.

1. Introduction

The Hmong, an ethnic minority in the mountainous region of northern Vietnam,1 have seen Protestant missionary work since the 1930s. However, they did not accept this religious tradition until the 1980s; subsequently, the number of believers became significant. A great number of conversions occurred, with the Protestant population increasing from dozens to roughly 100,000 in 2002, even though Protestantism was not recognized by the local government. This event led to important changes in Hmong religious life and other sociocultural aspects of their communities.

From 1987 to 2004, Hmong Protestants encountered several challenges regarding religious gatherings because Protestant congregations were not recognized. They could not meet to worship God publicly. With the Vietnamese Prime Minister introducing the Directive on Some Tasks Regarding Protestantism in 2005 (hereafter referred to as Directive 01), public religious gatherings have become more accessible. Hmong Protestant congregations have registered with local village authorities, and they gather to glorify God in “places of worship”.2 However, religious services remain inconvenient owing to the lack of chapels, pastors, and Hmong Bibles.

This article aims to explore (1) the introduction and development of Protestantism among the Hmong from 1987 to the present day, specifically focusing on the post-2005 period, and (2) how Protestantism has influenced the Hmong Protestants in the mountainous region of northern Vietnam. This study contributes to a more insightful investigation of Hmong conversion to Protestantism in Vietnam.

An existing body of literature focuses on Protestantism among the Hmong in the mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam (Lewis 2006, 2019; Lữ 1999; Moua 1995; Quang 2005; Tâm 2010, 2015; Tapp 2005; Vạn 2000). These works primarily analyze the introduction and growth of Protestantism among the Hmong from 1987 to 2004. They also highlight how Protestantism can negatively affect the Hmong. In addition, these studies examine some of the factors influencing the Hmong conversion to Protestantism.

Chan and Moua explain the impact of Protestantism on the Hmong. Christianity has had a significant effect not only on the Hmong’s religious practices but also on gender relations within some families. The various denominations involved with the Hmong no longer approve of polygamy, which continues to exist de facto, if not de jure, among some Hmong in the United States. Christianity has affected other marriage practices as well. The phenomena of bride price, arranged marriage, bride kidnapping, and the tradition of girls marrying within a year or two of reaching puberty are all frowned upon—indeed, deemed uncivilized—by the church, and those Hmong who have converted to Christianity have either modified such traditions or abandoned them altogether (Moua 1995).

According to Veer (as quoted in Ngô Thị Thanh Tâm 2010), conversion to another faith constitutes significant transformations that affect converts, non-converts, and the missionaries themselves. Conversion is an innovative practice through which people partake in social transformation, but is not a mechanical result of it. Lữ (1999) pointed out that Protestantism grew among the Hmong from 1986 to 1999, which has had positive and negative effects. Protestantism, known as “Vàng Trứ,” first appeared among the Hmong community in 1986 and grew dramatically from 1993 to 1999. Quang (2005) focused on the introduction and development of Vàng Trứ in specific Hmong communities. He also pointed out certain elements of traditional beliefs and culture, including the phenomenon of “proclaiming a king”, which led to the population’s conversion to Vàng Trứ. In a conversation with Đỗ Quang Hưng at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, on 3 July 2011, he remarked on how Protestantism is a religion that incorporates the Hmong values and lifestyle, can substitute old traditions, and allows participation in international connections of denominations.

Tam notes that “Becoming Christian seems to be more attractive for women than for men as it can be a path to empowerment; women play a leading role in many cases of conversion […] As a Christian, a Hmong woman could enjoy a Sunday free from labor. She would also not have to spend money to host all kinds of ceremonies, which often involve lots of cooking and cleaning. If her husband is a Christian, in theory, he would give up drinking alcohol. The Lord also prohibits men from beating women and from having two wives, so some Hmong women contemplate conversion as a form of protection against domestic violence and having to share their husbands with other women” (Tâm 2015, pp. 283–84). She also explores ritual competition between Christian and non-Christian Hmong in the Phong Hai commune of the Bao Thang district in Lào Cai Province (Ngô 2021, pp. 733–47). Loi (2020) analyzes changes in the position and role of men and women in the family, changes in the role of the head of the family in performing religious rituals, and changes in the role of the lineage head, village chief, and village elder. “In traditional society, apart from the lineage heads, village chiefs and elders are also influential and play an essential role in Hmong villages and hamlets. However, this concept has also changed significantly.

According to the authors’ survey results, when 2296 Protestants were asked the question Who is the most important person in the village?, the results were as follows: 1859 people said that it was the priests/group leaders/point leaders, accounting for 81%; 221 people said that it was the village elder, accounting for 9.6% and 216 people said that it was a village chief, accounting for 9.4%” (p. 121). Notably, Lewis (2019) maintains that the Hmong conversion to Protestantism has been unique in the world’s modern history in terms of the number of conversions, its rapid spread, and the scope of the movement’s effect as a large homogeneous population accepted a different faith.

This existing research contributes necessary sources to analyze and assess Protestantism among the Hmong people in Vietnam in different historical periods. It also discusses and clarifies content, mentioning the most important factors motivating the Hmong people to convert to Protestantism. However, there is a paucity of research regarding Protestantism among the Hmong from 2005 to the present day, which necessitates the current study with the following research questions: How was Protestantism introduced to the Hmong community? How has it grown among them? What is the most important reason for Hmong conversion to Protestantism in Vietnam?

The methods used in this study include the analysis of available sources related to Protestantism among the Hmong, such as official reports and publications, participant observations of Hmong Protestant services, in-depth interviews with Hmong Protestants and their religious leaders, and field trips in the Hmong Protestant communities.

The author has made several visits to Hmong communities in the region for research on Protestantism. The author’s first trip to Hmong mountain homes in Lào Cai, Lai Châu, and Điện Biên provinces was in 2004. After that, the author returned to some Hmong villages in Lào Cai province in August 2008, February 2021, and to Lai Châu in November 2015, 2022. In April 2009, the author went to Cao Bằng province. Then, the author visited the Mỏ Phìn group, Chiến Phố village, Hoàng Su Phì district, Hà Giang province, in August 2010. The author attended a public service of the Mỏ Phìn Hmong group. At that time, the author separately interviewed 14 Protestant Hmong of Mỏ Phìn hamlet in person, with prepared questions. Some interviewees gave the same answers categorized by the author. The interviews went as follows:

“Q: What do you think about Vang Tru? or What is Vang Tru?

A: Vang Tru is God. Vang Tru is Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. Vang Tru is Protestantism.

Q: When did you convert to Christ?

A: I converted to Protestantism in 1986. I converted to Protestantism in 1990. I have accepted Jesus Christ for 20 years.

Q: How often do you attend a religious service?

A: Twice a week, on Sunday morning and Thursday evening (all interviewees answered).

Q: What do you think about the impact of Protestantism on the Hmong?

A: My life has been improved. In the past, we had to eat cassava but now we can eat rice. We no longer have to practice folk religious rituals. Hmong Protestants no longer steal, gamble, overdrink, and smoke; there is no adultery in the Hmong Protestant community. Hmong animist or Protestant life is the same.

Q: Why did you convert to Christ?

A: Because a Hmong man told me that I should take the Hmong altar away to stop animism or shamanism. We no longer have to kill pigs, hens, buffaloes for folk religious rituals. Prior to being Protestants, the Hmong had to kill 2–3 buffaloes for funerals or weddings, so they were very poor. Because I no longer have to conduct old worship. Because of poverty.”

2. The Hmong and Vàng Trứ

2.1. The Hmong or Miao

The popular view states that the Hmong are an ethnic group of people originating from China, many of whom were massacred by the Han Chinese emperors and others, who were forced out to other countries, including Vietnam. “Even before the Christian era, ancestors of Miao lived in the western part of present-day Hunan and what was then the eastern portion of today’s Guizhou. Their name, usually recorded as Mao, appeared periodically in Chinese documents during the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279). Beginning in the third century of the Christian era, they were either moved or taken as captives to Yunnan and western Guizhou. Eventually, their dispersion, which caused them to be more widely scattered than any other minority group in China, reached as far as Thailand and Laos, where they became known as Hmong” (Covell 1995, pp. 83–84). From the 17th century, the Hmong started to migrate from China to northern Vietnam and other countries, including Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, the USA, France, Australia, and Canada. As of 1 April 2019, the population of the Hmong in Vietnam was 1,343,597, accounting for 1.44% of the total (Directing Committee of the National Population and Housing Census 2019, p. 160). This population lives mainly in the mountainous northern provinces, growing grains and crops on terraced fields. They also raise livestock such as buffaloes and cows in steep, hilly conditions, which, because of a lack of water, makes life more difficult.3 Their traditional culture is rich and distinctive, with folk songs, folk dances, music, the Hmong flute, and the Khen dance. The Hmong have a tradition of solidarity and supporting each other, especially those of the same lineage. As the Hmong lineage not only includes people of the same bloodline but also worshipers of the same type of “ghost”, it has no national boundaries. Their traditional religion consists of ancestor worship and shamanism as Xiong and Xiong (2008)4 point out that shaman rituals are an integral part of Hmong traditional religion. However, Hmong traditional religion is not defined by shamanism alone; another crucial aspect is “ancestor worship”. Furthermore, the Hmong traditional religion can be characterized as polytheism because many practitioners evoke and believe in the existence of multiple yet limited numbers of natural and supernatural spiritual forces (p. 2). The Hmong worship many ghosts, for example, “house ghosts”, “door ghosts”, and “kitchen ghosts”. They especially attach great importance to worshipping “ancestral ghosts” because they are a force that can help or punish the living members of the family. There are many rituals associated with the worship of ghosts.

2.2. What Is Vàng Trứ?

Vàng Trứ is a religious phenomenon that has been emerging in the Hmong area of Northern Vietnam since the 1980s, and that was used to circulate Protestant messages within the Hmong community via Nguồn Sống radio broadcasts. Where, when, and why did the term “Vàng Trứ” begin to appear? According to the representatives of Hmong Protestants, the Hmong in Asia did not use an exact term to name God in the Bible, who is proclaimed to liberate them from expensive spiritual rituals and vices. After much controversy, the Hmong people in Laos created a new word not found earlier in the original Hmong language, which can be transliterated from Phra Chao in Thai. The term Phra can be described as “holy” or “royal”, while Chao translates to “Lord”. Phra was translated as Vàng (Vaj in the Hmong language), and Chao as Trứ (tswv); therefore, Phra Chao was translated as Vajtswv (Vàng Trứ). In this way, the word for “God” in the Hmong language has become Vàng Trứ. The term has been used by the Hmong of Laos since they began to believe in Christ in 1950 (Lewis 2019). The name Vàng Trứ initially appeared to “Hmongize” God as a king in Hmong history or legends, thereby convincing the people to follow Vàng Trứ as their new king in the hope of enjoying long-lasting happiness in the future.

Phan Viết Phong (Lecturer at People’s Security Academy, Vietnam, 2003) holds that the nature of Vàng Trứ is Protestant, and this is revealed by the fact that the Vàng Trứ Hmong renounced their traditional religious practices and culture. In Quang’s work (Quang 2005, p. 173), in addition, Vàng Trứ is a new religious phenomenon. It is a new symbol created from pieces of Hmong legend, spirituality, and psychology and was formed from the term Vangx (King) of the Hmong. The purpose of the introduction of Vàng Trứ was to propagate a belief system in which God is a Hmong king from their native history or legend.

From the Hmong point of view, Vàng Trứ is a savior and a talented figure who has performed many miracles and will bring them a happy life. Vàng Trứ is the father of Jesus; it was promoted that the Hmong must follow King Vàng Trứ and Jesus and that Jesus was crucified for the Hmong. The term Vàng Trứ may describe God, a Hmong king, or a real person living somewhere in the U.S.A. or Laos. The Hmong believe that when they have faith in Vàng Trứ, there will be no more ghosts or other gods, they do not need to perform any rites involving expensive ghost offerings, can fly to the sky to have a happy life, and have their dreams realized. Vàng Trứ will perform miracles, such as turning large stones into buffaloes, cows, and horses and small stones into pigs and chickens. The Hmong believe they must follow Vàng Trứ, as this is their last chance to transform their lives; those who do not follow him will die tragically. Lastly, following Vàng Trứ will turn them into new people.

In short, “Vàng” means a king, while “Trứ” means an owner or proprietor. Vàng Trứ, Vangx Tsưr, or Vangx Tsưr Ntux mean “Heavenly King” (Ban Tôn giáo Chính phủ 2006, p. 142). Thus, Vàng Trứ is another name for Protestantism itself. The symbol of the Vàng Trứ seems to be familiar to the Hmong and was used for Protestant missions through the Đài Nguồn Sống broadcasts, making it easier for them to believe in Vàng Trứ and then Christ. Vàng Trứ, later introduced as the Biblical God, the father of Jesus, was the bridge that led the Hmong people to gradually convert to Protestantism.

The initiation ritual of Vàng Trứ includes slaughtering chickens to make oaths, as well as performing a ceremony to expel ancestors, house gods, and door gods by splashing three drops of “divine water” from an individual’s ancestral worshiping place on the walls of their house. The ones who perform this ritual are those who actively propagate Vàng Trứ among the Hmong people of Vietnam.

The followers of Vàng Trứ are not supposed to smoke, drink alcohol, engage in illicit sex, or eat “tiet canh” (blood pudding). They listen to Vàng Trứ’s words in the hope that they can return to Vàng Trứ to enjoy eternal happiness and go to the “bright heaven”. They hang crosses and pictures of Jesus on the wall, sing the praises of Vàng Trứ, thank Him before each meal, and perform rituals involving acknowledging their mistakes to the “savior” Vàng Trứ at different times. The dead must be buried after 24 h, with a cross-shaped wooden stick placed at the head of the grave. The graves must be shallow or the body positioned vertically so they can easily fly to the sky. To worship, people must regularly listen to Đài Nguồn Sống and gather once or twice a week to listen to the teachings of Vàng Trứ and learn to sing.

The propaganda of Vàng Trứ among the Hmong has been associated with the “proclaiming a king” movement in the past, when it was promised that a king or Vàng Trứ would appear. The figure was expected to have immense power to help the Hmong people overcome their current stalemate and live happy lives. The phenomenon of “proclaiming a king” has both secular and religious features and has occurred many times in the Hmong community in the past. In these events, the Hmong hope that their savior will appear, perhaps as a highly talented king or leader who can perform many miracles that will help them transform their lives forever. At that time, it was proclaimed that a new king would appear as Vàng Trứ (Quang 2005, p. 159). Beliefs, hopes, promises, benefits, and even fear of punishment have attracted some Hmong farmers to follow Vàng Trứ. The Vàng Trứ movement has rapidly and “unusually” developed in the Hmong community, reaching 60,000 people in 1994 (Duc 2017, p. 29). The development of Vàng Trứ has brought hope as well as anxiety, fear, and disturbance into the lives of the Hmong. In many places, they have given up work activities, sold all their possessions, slaughtered their livestock, and bought new clothes to wait for Vàng Trứ and to be taken to heaven.

3. Introduction and Growth of Protestantism among the Hmong People

Vietnam, historically a multi-religious society, has been described as a museum of religions and beliefs (Vạn 1998, p. 64). Today, the country is home to world religions such as Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam, as well as domestically established religions such as Caodaism, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Buu Son Ky Huong, and Tu An Hieu Nghia. The country has also witnessed the introduction of many new religious phenomena and practices of popular religious forms originating from within Vietnam or other countries. Religious adherents make up 27% of the population. Buddhism has the largest number of followers, accounting for 14.5% of the population, followed by Roman Catholicism with 6.5% and Protestantism with 1.5% (Government Committee for Religious Affairs 2022). Protestantism was brought to Vietnam through the work of the Société d’Evangelisation des Colonies from France and the Christian and Missionary Alliance from North America in the late 19th century. The process of the introduction and development of Protestantism among the Hmong people in the mountainous region of northern Vietnam took place as follows:

3.1. 1987–1992: Vàng Trứ Begins to Appear in This Region

In 1987, the radio station Đài Nguồn Sống started broadcasting messages about Vàng Trứ among the Hmong in Yên Hương village, Hàm Yên district, Tuyên Quang province. The Hmong were told that they would be saved if they followed Vàng Trứ. Otherwise, they would be eaten by tigers or drown in the water. Dương Văn Mình, a Hmong man, along with his colleague, described a bright future for the Hmong. He implored those Hmong who were eager to follow Vàng Trứ to enroll, give him money, a piece of red cloth, and cigarettes and remove their ancestral altars, relinquish their traditional animist rituals, and wait for Vàng Trứ to bring them to Heaven. Consequently, many of the Hmong people placed their trust in Vàng Trứ, with the concept spreading extensively to every Hmong area in the Tuyên Quang province (Quang 2005, pp. 173–74).

Vàng Trứ’s messages, likewise, were broadcast to the Hmong in Chiềng Cang village, Sông Mã district, and later to Mai Sơn, Mường La district and the Sơn La province. The Hmong heard a rumor that Vàng Trứ would appear and that followers would gain a happy life. The “fellow active Hmong”5 insisted that Vàng Trứ was indeed a Hmong king who would transform their lives and that the Hmong must learn to fly to see him. An estimation of Hmong Vàng Trứ believers in Sơn La in 1991 put the number at 2000 Protestants (Lữ 1999, p. 86).

From Sơn La, Vàng Trứ spread throughout the Hmong community in the Phì Nhừ, Phình Giàng, and Sa Dung villages, Điện Biên district, Lai Châu province (former).6 In Phì Nhừ village, Hạng Chù Vá, and Hạng A Dy, Hmong men told their people that Vàng Trứ would come to their hamlets. Such a rumor was transmitted rapidly to other villages of the province. Notably, after the June 1990 flood in Lai Châu town, Lai Châu province, and threats from the active Protestant Hmong, in Mường Lay district within just a week, hundreds of Hmong households began to believe in Christ and were willing to follow him. Vàng Trứ believers sharply increased in the province from 130 in 1987 to 5361 in 1990 (Lữ 1999, p. 237). In Huổi Chỏn hamlet, Ẳng Tở village, Tuần Giáo district, Điện Biên province in November 2004, Hờ A Tòng, head of a Hmong Protestant group, told the author he had been a Protestant since 1984.

This phase is primarily characterized by the Hmong’s acceptance of Vàng Trứ—Jesus Christ—en masse, solely through listening to the radio and proselytizing to their fellow active Hmong,7 even though they had practiced animism for a long time before the 1980s.

3.2. 1993–2004: The Number of Hmong Protestants Skyrocketed

In 1993, a number of Hmong people came to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North), desiring to follow Protestantism. The pastors and evangelists welcomed them, gave them Bibles, and explained basic Christian teachings. Back home, the Hmong Protestants distributed Bibles in the community and drew up a list of Hmong believers to send to the local authorities, asking for recognition. They would gather in a believer’s home to listen to Biblical teachings from cassette players once or twice a week. In a very short time, thousands of Hmong began to believe in Christ. In 2004, the population of Hmong Protestants reached 105,000, accounting for 13% of the Hmong population of Vietnam (Government Committee for Religious Affairs 2014, pp. 1–2). This was the period when the highest proportion of Vàng Trứ followers among the Hmong stated they were Protestants or had clearly affirmed their faith in God and Jesus; meanwhile, Vàng Trứ has continued to influence part of the Protestant Hmong community until the present day.

Some Protestant churches used specific tactics to attract and recruit followers, including providing money, cell phones, and cassette players for the active Hmong to circulate Protestant messages. Church committees, such as the executive committee and the committee of teenagers, youth, married couples, and women, were established.

Despite a lack of recognition from the local authorities, the number of Hmong Protestants skyrocketed because mass conversions were carried out.8 These conversions are a noticeable feature of Protestantism in Vietnam, and the same situation could be seen in the Central Highlands of the country from 1975 to 2000.

3.3. 2005 to the Present: Stabilization of the Protestant Situation

Directive 01 was a significant turning point in the Vietnamese governmental attitude toward Protestantism,9 including Protestantism among the Hmong, stating: “For Protestants who have been affiliated with the religious tradition for a long time, the local authority helps them worship God in their homes, or helps their Protestant groups to register with the local authority if they want. When a group meets the requirements of the religious organization, the local authority helps them to work under the law” (Thủ tướng Chính phủ 2005).

Directive 01 strongly influenced the Hmong because their Protestant group was not recognized by the local northern authority of Vietnam until 2004. Directive 01 confirmed that Hmong Protestant congregations could register with the local authority, which greatly pleased them as they were then able to gather publicly for religious services. In general, after Directive 01 was issued, the state of Protestantism among the Hmong improved, with the number of Protestants continuously rising in provinces such as Điện Biên.

However, the situation for Protestants has changed significantly of late, particularly in the remote mountainous border areas; many denominations have begun criticizing and competing with one another. In 1993, the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) (ECV) was the first denomination to appear in the region. After that, other Protestant denominations arrived with the purpose of conversion, such as the Christian Fellowship Church of Vietnam (CFCV), Presbyterian Church of Vietnam (PCV), and Pentecostal Assemblies of Vietnam (PAV), by providing material support and taking care of the lives of believers. Điện Biên province has the most Protestant denominations. In the province, there is a situation where followers of ECV are switching to follow CFCV, PCV, PAV, and the Southern Baptists in Vietnam, which is directly because followers of these churches have cared more about their material and spiritual life. For example, PCV donated blankets and mosquito nets to Hmong Protestants in Lào Cai province. In recent years, in Son La province, the opposite situation has occurred; some CFCV believers have moved to follow ECV or other denominations.

Furthermore, since 2015, a segment of Hmong Protestants have converted to other sects like Gie Sua-Jesus and Ba Co Do (Do Aunt), in which Gie Sua believers worship Jesus Christ and Ba Co Do believers worship Ba Co Do. Both of these phenomena originated in America and were transmitted online to the Hmong people. In 2019, there were 1208 Hmong Protestants in Điện Biên province who converted to the Gie Sua phenomenon, and in 2018, there were 149 Hmong Protestants in Lai Châu province who did likewise. Some of the Hmong Protestants in Sơn La and Lào Cai provinces also moved to Gie Sua. In 2018, there were 330 Hmong Protestants in Điện Biên province and 299 Hmong Protestants in Lai Châu province who converted to Ba Co Do.10

This situation, on the one hand, demonstrates the religious freedom of believers; on the other hand, it creates disturbances in the religious activities of believers and the community, complicating security and order. At the same time, it makes it difficult to issue registration certificates for religious activities to Protestant groups. In Lào Cai province, Protestants have been on the rise in the Sa Pa district since several foreign visitors evangelized to the locals. They have done so in other districts, such as Bắc Hà, Bảo Thắng, Bảo Yên, and Bát Sát. Clergy were appointed to the institution, and houses of worship were built without licensing from the local authority. In Sơn La, Protestants were active in Sốp Cộp, Sông Mã, Mường La, Mai Sơn, Thuận Châu, and Phù Yên districts. They did not obtain their registration because of the local authority’s postponement until 2013, causing complexities for these Protestants. The Hmong Protestants responded positively only after registration was conferred on the congregation. The Hmong religious practices include preaching, gathering for public services, attending a training course on theology in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, receiving Bibles and Christian materials and distributing them in the community, and conducting Christmas and Easter rites, among others. The numbers of Hmong Protestants in the provinces in 2021 were: Điện Biên 69,100; Lai Châu 45,396; Lào Cai 34,444; Hà Giang 21,429; Sơn La 20,075.11

Almost all houses of worship were homes of Hmong people in the villages, as the congregation was not able to apply for permission to build chapels in accordance with legal requirements. In many cases, the houses of worship were too small for religious services. On 12 August 2014, the author interviewed five Hmong Protestants separately about their desires for their group in Mỏ Phìn hamlet, Chiến Phố village, Hoàng Su Phì district, Hà Giang province. All of them had placed requests with the local authority and the Vietnamese government for help in building their houses of worship.

The education and training of pastors and evangelists were promoted. The Hmong had no pastors and evangelists for 20 years after 1987; however, many of them have been educated and trained by different Protestant denominations within the past decade. The training took place in the Protestant Bible School in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, for four years and in some provinces for shorter terms. As of May 2019, there were 389 pastors and evangelists in the region (Government Committee for Religious Affairs 2022, pp. 1–2).

Many Church affiliates have been established based on one or more Protestant congregations. Church affiliates have legal permission that is granted by the local government for building, repairing, renting religious places, social movements, personnel training, or civil transactions in general. As for ECV, by April 2021, there were 11 Church affiliates established in this area.

Hmong Protestants participate in religious services on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings. These consist of hymns, public prayers, delivery of Protestant teachings by the heads of Protestant groups, and rites. Each prayer meeting lasts for approximately 45 min. After this, the members of the committees of teenagers, youth, married couples, and women meet. On the evening of 12 August 2010, the author attended a Hmong religious gathering in Mỏ Phìn hamlet, Chiến Phố village, Hoàng Su Phì district, Hà Giang province. It lasted for approximately 45 min, from 8:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Forty-four Hmong Protestants (28 men, 16 women) attended the service, which involved singing hymns, listening to the head of the Protestant congregation deliver Bible teachings, and speeches by attendants. The language used in the gathering was a Romanized version of Hmong.

As of 2021, the mountainous northern region of Vietnam was home to 300,000 Hmong Protestants (Government Committee for Religious Affairs 2022, pp. 1–2), who belong to many denominations or organizations (

Table 1. Protestant organizations or denominations in the provinces, 2019.

Province	Protestant Organizations or Denominations
Điện Biên	Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) (ECV), Christian Fellowship Church of Vietnam (CFCV), Inter-Evangelistic Movement (IEM), Inter-Evangelistic Movement in Vietnam (IEMV), Evangelical Mission Church of Vietnam (EMCV), Seventh-Day Adventist Church of Vietnam (SACV), Southern Baptists in Vietnam, Baptist Churches in Vietnam, Living Water Gospel Church (LWGC), Word of Life Church, Assemblies of God of Vietnam (AGV), Vietnam United Methodist Church (VUMC), Gospel Church of Peace
Hà Giang	ECV, CFCV, AGV, Vietnam Full Gospel Church (VFGC), Presbyterian Church of Vietnam (PCV), EMCV, IEM, LWGC
Lai Châu	ECV, CFCV, AGV, PCV, EMCV, IEM, SACV
Lào Cai	ECV, CFCV, AGV, IEMV, EMCV, PCV, VFGC, SACV, VUMC, Pentecostal Assemblies of Vietnam
Sơn La	ECV, CFCV, PCV, VFGC, SACV, IEM

Source: (Điện Biên Committee for Religious Affairs 2020; Hà Giang Committee for Religious Affairs 2020; Lai Châu Committee for Religious Affairs 2020; Lào Cai Committee for Religious Affairs 2020; Sơn La Committee for Religious Affairs 2020).

). The numbers of Protestant congregations were Điện Biên = 361, Lai Châu = 239, Lào Cai = 198, Hà Giang = 163, and Sơn La = 124.12 While holding religious services has become much more convenient, Protestant churches have trouble with other activities, such as constructing houses of worship, training leaders, or printing Bibles in the Romanized version of Hmong, because of the problematic relationship between the church and the local authorities.

4. Protestant Influence on the Hmong People

4.1. Spiritual Life

Protestantism is the spiritual support of a part of the Hmong people, who have experienced a decline in the role of folk religions and beliefs owing to many evil customs and expensive kinship or ritual obligations. Protestantism has brought the Hmong a new faith and hope for a way out of poverty. They believe they will go to Heaven with God upon their death to obtain a happy life or that someday, a savior of their group will bring prosperity and happiness to the people. This has encouraged the Hmong in their life and work. This explains why a significant portion of the Hmong have accepted Jesus Christ in the past three decades. Quang states that the emergence of Protestantism has been a “spiritual medicine” to fulfill the wishes of the Hmong people, whose faith has faded (Quang 2005, p. 256). A Hmong letter sent to Nguon Song Radio in 1998 stated, “After being Protestants, our life is happier and more significant. Word of Christ grant peace to us, teach us to live a kind life” (as quoted in Lewis 2019).

4.2. Economic Life

Weber states that the Protestant ethic encourages a person to work hard and be successful: “On earth, in this life, in order to become certain of one’s state of grace, a person must “work the works of Him who sent him, while it is day” [John 9:4]. According to the will of God, which has been clearly revealed, only activity, not idleness and enjoyment, serves to increase His glory. Of all the sins, the wasting of time constitutes the first and, in principle, most serious. A single-life offers an infinitely short and precious space of time to “make firm” one’s own election. The loss of time through sociability, “idle talk”, sumptuousness, and even through more sleep than is necessary for good health (six to eight hours at most) is absolutely morally reprehensible” (Weber 2011, p. 160).

It works the same way with the Hmong Protestants. Protestant sermons lead believers to work hard and live thriftily. The local authority of Mai Long village, Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bằng Province, writes, “For past years Protestants have known how to get rich for their families. They have earned money from cultivating fountain grass and keeping cows. They also have exploited terraced fields for permanent cultivation. Some households purchased fields. For example, Hoang Van Khao kept more than 40 cows. Mr. Hoàng Văn Sung, the head of Khuoi Hau hamlet, purchased a field which cost 67 million Vietnam dongs in Chang hamlet” (Mai Long Village Nguyen Binh District 2009, pp. 2–3).

Hmong Protestants spend less money and time on weddings, funerals, and worshipping ghosts. Weddings, which would often take more than one day, could be shortened to a day, and funerals, earlier lasting several days, could be reduced to two days. In Điện Biên, Lai Châu province in December 2004 and November 2022; Lào Cai province in December 2004 and August 2009; and Hà Giang province in August 2010 and 2012, many Hmong Protestants shared that while they really needed cult practices before the spiritual crisis, they now preferred Christian worship to their folk religion as it is less expensive. A leading chief of a Hmong Protestant group shared in a 2011 seminar conducted in the area that, being a Protestant, he had five water buffaloes at the time. If he had not converted to Protestantism, he would have had to kill all the buffaloes and use up all the alcohol for his parents’ funerals. With the buffaloes, he could pay for his children’s tuition fees in his hometown as well as in Hanoi, the capital city (Duc 2017, p. 63).

Regarding bride price, this is approximately VND 80 million (about USD 3300). The custom still takes place in the Hmong community following folk religions in Sa Pa town, Lào Cai province. Meanwhile, organizing weddings and funerals according to Protestant rituals is more cost-efficient. In particular, there has been a positive change in the Hmong village named Sin Suoi Ho, in Phong Tho district, Lai Châu province, on the China–Vietnam border, where, of the roughly 140 households, 95% are Protestants. This is considered a typical case of the positive influence of Protestantism on socioeconomic life. This village suffered from drug addiction and poverty in the past, but since 1990, when villagers converted to Protestantism, there have been no drug addicts. People in the village began engaging with Protestantism in 1992 by listening to Nguon Song Radio broadcasts in the Hmong language. From then on, the pastor and his colleagues began providing rehabilitation sessions for people in the village along with religious services. Organizing detoxification encountered many difficulties, required high determination from the pastor and rehabilitation organizers as well as individuals, and took about ten years to implement. The method of detoxification is through Bible study, caring and sharing, and massage for people with addiction. As a result, more than 100 people were successfully detoxified without relapse.

The pastor and his colleagues then began implementing the village’s economic development plan. First, they worked on road construction. Next, with the provision of cement by the local government, the first kilometers of concrete roads leading into the village were completed. The road system in the village is entirely concrete, convenient for travel. Second, a market was organized in the village as a place to trade and exchange goods and daily items. In the initial step, it was organized in a way that people could “exchange what they had”. Gradually, the market expanded to become a place for buying and selling, exchanging goods, interacting with local people and tourists, and meeting every Saturday. The market offers many supplies, including local products such as potatoes, agricultural tools, clothes, and souvenirs. Indigenous tourism development was carried out with the construction of accommodation for groups as well as households or individuals. In recent years, the village’s homestays have also accommodated the needs of about 300 tourists simultaneously. Human resource training activities for tourism have also been carried out. Villagers have been sent for training in the tourism business, European and Asian cuisine, and learning English. In 2015, Sin Suoi Ho was recognized by the province chairman as a community tourism destination. Travel services, including rooms, food, and refreshments, have been gradually improved.13

4.3. Social Life

Regarding gender equality, Protestantism made a meaningful change—the status of women was strengthened. Women are involved in deciding the affairs of the family and the community. They also attend church services instead of working in the field; while praying with other adherents, they gain opportunities to share and express their issues. Therefore, in many localities, women often prefer to convert to Protestantism and attend religious meetings (Thang 2009, p. 165). Meanwhile, in the Hmong community in Sơn La province, which follows traditional religious customs, wives are compared to hens, and husbands can have sex anytime they want, without consent.14 In the animist Hmong community, the status of women has not been paid the same attention as that of men. Women have to work hard in the fields in the mountains from early morning until midnight. Hmong Protestants demonstrate a sense of unity and enthusiastically help each other in production labor and daily life. According to a survey, 76.3% of Hmong Protestants agree that all believers, regardless of lineage, are relatives and, therefore, have the responsibility to care for and help each other (Loi 2020, p. 121). Social evils, such as drug addiction, have been reduced in the Protestant community. In addition, during the field visit to Phong Tho district, Lai Châu province, on 11 November 2022, the three provincial officials interviewed said that Hmong Protestants strictly implement policies and laws and are active voters.

4.4. Cultural Life

Conversion has helped Hmong Protestants escape outdated customs15 related to weddings, funerals, and healing. In the event of a death, the deceased can be buried on any day except Sunday; the rituals of worship for showing the way and driving away the Sino-ghost, fresh ghost, and cow ghost are no longer conducted. Regarding marriage, the customs of bride price and bride kidnapping have ceased. In this case, conversion equals simplicity and convenience. Hmong Christians feel that they have been liberated from the old and sinful ways of religious worship (Moua 1995, p. 14). The pastor advises the Hmong to pray to God and go to a medical facility for medical examination and treatment in sickness or unhealthy situations and avoid inviting shamans to worship ghosts. The pastor also advises them to live hygienically to prevent disease. In Pac Nam district, Bắc Kạn province, in October 2010, a district official told the authors that in the past, when going to the market, Hmong men were drunk and slept on the side of the road; since Protestant teachings spread in the Hmong community, this no longer happens. According to officials of Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bằng province, in hamlets with 100% Protestant households, social evils such as drug addiction and prostitution do not exist, and communal security is protected (Nguyen Binh District 2009, p. 2).

Public services attract young people and women. On Sundays, Hmong Protestants, particularly women, do not go to work; instead, they dress formally and head to the house of worship, where they meet and share their interests with other people. This did not happen in the past. They can also enjoy hymns in Hmong or Vietnamese, which they look forward to. In contrast, animist Hmong women have to work hard in the fields in the mountains from early morning until midnight. In addition, in some provinces, the Hmong Protestant community has been more enlightened than the animist one. Hmong Protestants know how to earn more money from rearing cattle and planting fountain grasses. The communal environment has been cleaner. Pastors and heads of Protestant groups have encouraged the Hmong to learn and become educated as a whole.

However, the growth of Protestantism has also had a negative impact on Hmong communities. When the Hmong converted to Protestantism, their culture underwent sweeping changes. A considerable number of Hmong Protestants have lost and forgotten their old ways of being because they had to renounce all their folk religious practices to embrace the Christian way of life. The growth of Protestantism has divided the Hmong. The case of Bao Lac district, Cao Bằng province, shows: “Tension increased between Protestant and non-Protestant Hmong in the community. For example, in a Hmong family, children followed Christ, but the parents did not, so the inheritance to children was not passed by their parents, which led to domestic violence. They sued their parent for the property. In some hamlets, people did not want to share common water supplies, or they were against the marriage between Protestant and animist Hmong” (Bao Lac District 2009, p. 1). However, such a negative influence primarily emerged in the initial phase of the introduction of Protestantism in the Hmong area and has reduced over time. Currently, Protestants and non-Protestant Hmong respect each other’s religious beliefs more and live in peace as a whole.

5. Conclusions

Protestant missionary work among the Hmong of the mountainous northern region of Vietnam first began in the 1930s but did not see immediate success. Only in the 1980s did the Hmong follow Christ through FEBC (Ngo forthcoming) and Đài Nguồn Sống broadcasts before the coming of missionaries. The number of Protestants skyrocketed from 1993 to 2004. From 2005, when the Vietnamese Prime Minister introduced Directive 01, the Protestant situation among the Hmong became positive. However, the situation of Protestantism among the Hmong people is still complicated as numbers of adherents increase, creating a need for religious services and pastors to guide religious activities, competition between Protestant denominations, even a situation of “competing” for believers, or the conversion of believers from one Protestant denomination to another, and “new religious sects”. In the past three decades, a Protestant Hmong community has been formed in the region, with 300,000 adherents belonging to 1631 congregations of different denominations, accounting for 20% of the Hmong population. This is quite different from Miao Christianity in China, where 80% of the Miao (or the Hmong) are Christians. The majority of the Hmong in Vietnam have strongly expressed opposition to Protestant missionary work so far.

The emergence of Protestantism has had a profound impact on a significant portion of the Hmong. It meets the spiritual and cultural needs of the Hmong people in a context where folk religions have a reduced role and Hmong life is severely challenging, contributing to forming a positive, hard-working, and thrifty attitude. It has been able to transform their lifestyle toward civilization, remove superstitious rites, enhance the status of women, reduce social evils, and improve their lives. By implementing policies favoring Protestantism, the positive effects would increase. However, Protestantism has eliminated some spheres of Hmong traditional culture or broken their solidarity.

This study has a few limitations; therefore, our findings should be interpreted cautiously and prudently. The study lacks fieldwork and surveys in different Hmong communities, mainly because the mountainous northern region of Vietnam is enormous, and many Hmong villages are extremely difficult to access. It is also challenging to collect data for the research. Future studies should focus on the religious and social lives of Hmong Protestants, including their participation in religious services and church attendance, or the contributions of Protestantism to the Hmong community.