Law on Belief and Religion (amended): Urgent need for management in digital environment

(Chinhphu.vn) - The conference to contribute comments on the policy dossier of the Law on Belief and Religion (amended) on November 27 is an important forum for experts, scientists and managers to exchange and debate, contributing to perfecting the draft law in a feasible and practical direction.

In addition to conferences to gather opinions from religious and belief organizations in the Northern region, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions will organize conferences in the Southern region to complete the draft before submitting it to the National Assembly Standing Committee for comments.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Ethnic Minorities and Religions Nguyen Hai Trung said that the progress of law-making has been requested to be shortened by 6 months, expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in April 2026.

According to the Deputy Minister, Vietnam currently recognizes 16 religions with their own characteristics. Therefore, the new policy must ensure uniform application while still respecting the diversity of each organization.

He noted that religious activities intersect with many specialized laws, so it is necessary to clearly define a coordination mechanism to avoid legal conflicts. This law amendment is considered difficult and complicated but necessary to ensure freedom of belief, while improving the effectiveness of state management, meeting the requirements of international integration.

Mr. Vu Hoai Bac, Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions) spoke at the conference.

Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Vu Hoai Bac said that this draft policy adds regulations on the responsibilities of organizations and individuals conducting religious activities online, as well as the responsibilities of management agencies and telecommunications and internet businesses. He emphasized that a comprehensive assessment of religious activities in the digital space is necessary to come up with appropriate management solutions.

Experts attending the conference all highly appreciated the draft, but said that decentralization and delegation in the management of beliefs and religions must be clear and feasible. Expert Do Quang Hung pointed out the reality that many localities, especially remote areas, lack human resources; if decentralization does not take into account the capacity for implementation, it will create burdens and gaps in management.

Former Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Nguyen The Danh also agreed, saying that decentralization must be strong to the commune level to facilitate people, and at the same time, higher levels only intervene when necessary to avoid the situation of "piling work up to the Central Government".

At the conference, local representatives acknowledged the completeness of the draft and also reflected on many difficulties in management practice. For example, in Hung Yen, Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs Dinh Thi Hoan said that the province received many requests to establish religious associations, but the current law does not have clear regulations so it cannot be resolved.

In Son La, where social media use is widespread, Deputy Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions Sung A Giao warned of the dense presence of religious content online, both official and unofficial, including from foreign sources. He suggested that the revised law should clarify the mechanism for identifying and managing religious content in the digital environment.

Representing Hanoi, Mr. Phan Vu, Deputy Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions, said that online religious activities are a trend that has taken place regardless of whether the law regulates it or not. However, he recommended that only online religious activities and expressions of beliefs should be recognized, and not "online religious organizations" should be recognized as an independent entity.

The conference ended with a high level of consensus on the need to amend the Law on Belief and Religion, especially the requirement to perfect the management mechanism in the digital environment and ensure feasibility when decentralizing to the grassroots level.

In the draft Law on Belief and Religion (amended), the drafting committee has developed three new policies, including: Religious activities on cyberspace; decentralization to ensure freedom of belief and religion for everyone; state management measures in the field of belief and religion; simplification of administrative procedures and digital transformation in the field of belief and religion.

According to the plan, the Law on Belief and Religion (amended) will continue to seek opinions from central ministries and branches on November 28, 2025.

Son Hao

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/luat-tin-nguong-ton-giao-sua-doi-doi-hoi-cap-thiet-ve-quan-ly-tren-moi-truong-so-1022511271526394.htm