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AnonymousCaidai, to me, is a kind of eclecticism that's seen in so many aspects of Vietnamese life. Looking forward to the presentation from Janet Hoskins...and I'll try to be early. Going to leave by 7 this time
AnonymousCaodism is extremely interesting! The religion of tolerance and inclusion trumps the standard typical religious belief that "if you are not with us, then you are against us". I am sure that some are not happy that Jesus and Mohammed are located on the 3rd level below Confucius and Buddha, but at least there included. Absorb rather that reject, peace rather than war. Most wars start on Sunday?
AnonymousThis is the first time I am hearing about Cadai. I think that it is very interesting the way this religion blends its foundational religious practices with Western practices. The historical context of foreign imperialism is also important and should not be left out of the conversation. The religion was created as an attempt, by Vietnamese, to ensure the preservation of their cultural practices while making accomodations due Western pressure. However, all religions experience syncretism in order to have the initial buy in by the local populace. Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism are not pure religions and all have influences from regional/local belief systems.
In a lesson plan, students could analyze syncretic elements of Asian religions. It would also be important to understand the context of the syncretism.
edited by gmora on 8/1/2016
AnonymousVery interesting reading about Caodaism coming from Vietnam. Interesting incorporation of the french colonial catholic mission to local religion traditions and needs of the time. I wonder how this take on Christianity will continue to grow out from the Vietnamese diaspora in California and other areas where those from Vietnam have settled.
AnonymousI cannot say that I had any clue what Caodaism was prior to reading the article written by Janet Hoskins. From my understanding of the article, the religion is honoring both European and Asian religious practices. It seems to be a mixing of and mutual respect for Roman Catholicism and Asian religions such as, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It is interesting that the religion gained popularity as an anti-colonial movement, but still gives respect to European religious practices. More shocking to me was that there was about 20-25% of the population that converted to this religious practice in South Vietnam during the period of 1930-1975.
Questions:
I am very confused by this religion. Is Caodaism a modern religion? Why did it gain popularity in a modern time period?
If some of these religions that Caodaism builds on are not missionary religions how can people who practice Caodaism desire to spread the religion globally? Also...does this religion seem to contradict itself in its beliefs or do all these contradicting beliefs work together somehow?
edited by skroop on 7/28/2016
AnonymousI agree with Dr. Hoskins, the official governement statistics on religion does not reflect the actual practice of Vietnamese people. As Dr. Hoskins said, their affiliations will typically become more evident during life changing events e.g. death.
AnonymousBeing Vietnamese-American, I thought I knew a good amount about the Vietnamese culture and community. I was sorely wrong. Caodai has never even crossed my radar even though I am Vietnamese and live in the largest community of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. I guess you can say I practice Caodai at home because my family pays homage to our ancestors and we frequent the Buddhist temples???
After seeing visuals of Caodai temples, I have seen many of these temples in Vietnam but I always thought those we just Buddhist temples. I think I can use my own confusion about religion with my students. I want to be able to compare things my students know and things they would never even considered.
AnonymousThis religion is so welcoming and not trying to start problems with other religions. I really thing that their belief of worshiping the left eye was an interesting fact, which focus on morality and ethics, as opposed to the right eye, which focus on the intelligence and rationale of the individual. That seems to make sense with the religion given that they are so pacifist. It would be very interesting to compare and contrast this religion with Buddahism in the classroom.
AnonymousFirst time heard of Caodaism. It is good to know that Sun Yat-sen was one of the three prophet of it. The statues of Caodaism look like those from Daoism.
clay dubeI've only visited Vietnam once, in 2004. I subsequently put together the attached presentation for my UCLA students. The visit included a trip to the Caodai home temple. Janet's presentation is far more detailed and recent. She's an expert. Still, perhaps you'll find this more general look of use. The last several slides were from the Caodai visit.
edited by Clay Dube on 7/28/2016
Anonymouslast night was the first time that I was exposed to Caodaism. I really like how it is an inclusive religion. Integrating the sacred people of other religions, and including people like poets and political leaders including George Washington?
AnonymousIt is quite interesting to find that Caodaism combines Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Catholicism. The seven figures in the picture the professor showed to us consists of 6 Chinese figures and 1 western figure. As I have some students from Vietnam, I think it would be a good idea to use this picture as an opening for the unit of introduction to Chinese religions.
AnonymousI feel that a good high school debate/discussion to have regarding Caodai would be the question, "Is Caodai a religion just as Christianity and Islam is considered a religion?" When discussing a religion like Christianity and/or Islam one can argue their legitimacy, for lack of a better word, through figures like Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhummad and their roles in the development of their respective religions. However, when discussing Caodai you have a variety of saints and figures like Sun Yat Sen, Victor Hugo, Julius Cesar, and of course Jesus Christ and Muhammad. With proper scaffolding and explanations of the history of this Vietnamese religion, a student-led discussion (Philosophical Chairs/Socratic Seminar) could be a great way to culminate the lesson.
AnonymousIn the beginning of Janet Hoskins presentation on Vietnam’s religions, I felt the changes in percentages for Caodaism was surprising. According to the article on Vietnam’s Indigenous Religions, Caodaism was practiced by 20%-25% of the population leading up to 1975, in 2009 that number was 1% of the population, and in 2014 that number went back up closer to 5%. What accounts for this more recent change? I get that communism has since 1975 pushed Caodaism out of the country to some degree in closing temples.
Are the practices of counting the number of people who practice these religions accurate, or are mistakes being made? I can understand the idea that many people may choose not to answer the question in regards to religion when putting this on a government issued ID due to reasons of discrimination in finding a job.
Also I really enjoyed the pictures of the Caodai temples. The symbolism in the colors and imagery used in the decoration of the temples is something that I would like to know more about.
AnonymousProfessor Hoskins' lecture about Caodai made me question how practitioners of the religion were being treated by society in Vietnam and I came upon a very interesting article about religious persecution by the Vietnamese government not only on those of the Caodai faith, but all faiths within Vietnam.