Religious beliefs are not assets to be exploited for profit

A scientific seminar examining changes in religious beliefs and practices among ethnic minority communities in Vietnam's northern midland and mountainous regions was held on October 22 at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

The seminar, titled "Identifying Current Conditions, Emerging Trends and Solutions for Harnessing Religious and Belief Resources among Ethnic Minority Communities in the Northern Midlands and Mountains," brought together researchers to discuss how cultural traditions can be sustained amid rapid social and economic change.

Associate Professor Dr. Dang Hong Son, Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said religious and spiritual life among ethnic minority communities in the region was undergoing significant transformations.

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Associate Professor Dr. Dang Hong Son, Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, speaks at the seminar.

Economic development, migration, changing livelihoods, cultural exchange, tourism and digital media have all contributed to these shifts.

Some traditional values have found new forms of expression, while other practices face the risk of losing continuity between generations or undergoing changes that alter their original meaning.

"Harnessing cultural and spiritual resources does not mean turning beliefs into instruments or reducing heritage to mere economic products," Son emphasized.

Sharing this view, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Truong Giang, Dean of the Faculty of Anthropology and Religious Studies, argued that the commercialization of rituals and indigenous knowledge raises fundamental questions about cultural ownership and responsibility.

Whenever a ritual or traditional practice is transformed into a tourism product, he said, the central questions should be who preserves it, who makes the decisions, how its cultural value is maintained and who ultimately benefits.

If cultural heritage is reduced to a staged performance designed solely for visitors, it risks losing both its sacred significance and the vitality that comes from the community itself.

"Sacred spaces, ritual knowledge and collective memories cannot always be turned into tourism products or publicly accessible data," Giang cautioned.

His remarks highlighted the delicate boundary between promoting cultural heritage and exploiting it beyond what communities consider appropriate.

Rethinking heritage policy: Community vitality as the measure of success

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An overview of the scientific seminar on religious beliefs and cultural heritage among ethnic minority communities in northern Vietnam.

Against the backdrop of cultural change in Vietnam's northern highlands, Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Cam, Deputy Director of the Institute for Cultural Studies under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, offered a more nuanced perspective on the relationship between heritage preservation and commercialization.

He noted that the formal recognition, theatrical presentation and tourism-oriented adaptation of traditional practices can have both positive and negative consequences.

Examples include Mo Muong, a traditional ritual practice of the Muong ethnic community; the Dao people's Cap Sac initiation ceremony; and Xoe Thai, a traditional communal dance of the Thai ethnic group.

While such adaptations can weaken the spiritual significance of cultural practices, they can also create new opportunities for communities when managed responsibly and with respect for the people who maintain the traditions.

Under appropriate conditions, bringing heritage into contemporary public life can generate resources and spaces for communities to revive rituals, reinforce their cultural authority and strengthen pride in their identities.

Researchers at the seminar also presented a draft policy advisory report prepared by the Faculty of Anthropology and Religious Studies.

The report is intended for submission to Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs.

One of its central recommendations is to rethink how cultural heritage preservation is evaluated.

Rather than focusing primarily on the number of cultural events, official heritage titles or tourist arrivals, the researchers propose assessing whether traditions can continue to be practiced, passed down and renewed within their communities.

Giang argued that preserving heritage should not simply be a matter of organizing more rituals or constructing additional cultural facilities.

"The issue is not merely how many more rituals can be preserved or how many more facilities can be built, but how to ensure that practices meaningful to communities continue to have people who preserve them, successors who carry them forward, spaces in which they can exist and the conditions to renew themselves," he said.

He also warned that widespread publicity does not necessarily guarantee the survival of a cultural tradition.

A form of heritage may gain considerable public recognition yet continue to decline if the communities responsible for practicing it gradually lose the authority to make decisions about its future.

The researchers' recommendations place the people who sustain cultural traditions at the center of heritage policy, emphasizing that the long-term survival of sacred practices depends not only on recognition or economic opportunities but also on the communities' ability to preserve their meaning and determine how they are shared.

Binh Minh