IOverview
The Bahá'í Community of Vietnam is the organisation of Bahá'ís in Vietnam, recognised by the state in 2008. It is not a separate branch of doctrine. Vietnamese Bahá'ís share the same faith, scriptures, Badí' calendar and system of assemblies as Bahá'ís everywhere, under the Universal House of Justice in Haifa.
Official documents usually spell the name without diacritics as Baha'i. The community has a nine-member National Spiritual Assembly, first elected at a congress on 21 March 2008. According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, it has no central place of worship and meets in local offices and private homes. There is no Bahá'í House of Worship in Vietnam.
IIHistory
Sources differ on when the Faith reached Vietnam. The Government Committee for Religious Affairs, in a 2023 document, and Nhan Dan newspaper on 25 July 2008 give 1954. An article by Vu Van Chung in the Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science in 2021 gives the 1920s. English Wikipedia records that Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney visited Saigon and Hanoi in 1920 and that Martha Root spent a week in Saigon in May 1924. The 1920 date may refer to first contacts and 1954 to the start of an organised community.
- 1954Shirin Fozdar in SaigonA Bahá'í living in Singapore. The first Bahá'í group forms.
- 1955First local assemblyElected in Saigon on 21 April, according to English Wikipedia.
- 1957Second assemblyIn Trung Giang, Quang Nam, according to English Wikipedia.
- 1964National Spiritual Assembly of VietnamFormed this year, according to English Wikipedia.
- 1992Informal gatheringsEnglish Wikipedia records that informal meetings were permitted from this year and the first Hanoi group formed.
- 2007Registration certificateThree sources give February, March, and 28 March.
- 2008Congress and recognitionCongress on 21 March. Recognition decision on 14 July, according to Vu Van Chung.
Between 1955 and 1975 the community in the South grew quickly and reached the countryside. English Wikipedia records eight new local assemblies in 1958 and the first Bahá'í school opening in Phuoc Long. English Wikipedia cites an estimate of over 20,000 in 1963 and one of about 200,000 in the South in 1975. The library has not been able to trace the origin of these figures. After 1975 the community stopped organised public activity until its registration in 2007.
IIIFaith and Community Life
According to Nhan Dan in 2008, the community worships God as the one Supreme Being, has no professional clergy, and has local activities coordinated by nine-member councils elected every year. The aims stated at recognition were to act in accordance with Vietnamese law and to contribute to national unity and social and economic development.
Bahá'í life in Vietnam looks much as it does elsewhere: daily prayer, the fast in the month of 'Alá' before Naw-Rúz, the Nineteen Day Feast and the holy days. The community runs spiritual education classes for children, junior youth groups and study circles. The bahai.org.vn site features a junior youth group in Da Nang caring for the environment of its neighbourhood. With no House of Worship, devotional gatherings take place in homes and offices.
IVOrganisation and Legal Status
Recognition came in two steps. The first was a certificate of registration for religious activity in 2007. Nhan Dan gives February, the 2023 document of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs gives 28 March, and Vu Van Chung gives March. The second was recognition as an organisation in 2008. According to English Wikipedia, the congress of 21 March 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City had more than 250 delegates. Nhan Dan reported the handover of the decision on 25 July 2008, with remarks by Nguyen The Doanh for the Government Committee and Nguyen Thuc for the community.
The structure consists of the National Spiritual Assembly and Local Spiritual Assemblies, each with nine members. A national delegate congress meets regularly, the ninth in 2016 according to bahai.org.vn.
| Source | Data year | Bahá'ís | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nhan Dan, 25 July 2008 | 2008 | About 7,000 | 93 communities in 43 provinces |
| US State Department, via Wikipedia | 2012 | About 8,000 | Estimate |
| Vu Van Chung, 2021 | 2020 | Over 8,000 | 45 provinces, nearly 450 in Hanoi |
| Government Committee for Religious Affairs, 2023 | December 2021 | About 7,000 | 45 provinces |
| VietNamNet, 20 July 2025 | 2025 | About 7,000 | 36 communities |
VToday
More than fifteen years after recognition, the community remains small, around seven thousand people according to domestic sources. According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Bahá'ís live scattered across 45 provinces and cities. There is no House of Worship and no Bahá'í school, and the focus is on classes for children and junior youth and devotional gatherings open to all.
For Vietnamese who want to visit a Bahá'í House of Worship, the nearest is the local temple in Battambang, Cambodia, dedicated in 2017.
Some assume the Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam is a recent arrival because it was recognised only in 2008. In fact the community has been present since the mid twentieth century, with its first local assembly in 1955. The year 2008 marks recognition as an organisation under current law.
VISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIOther Branches of the Bahá'í Faith
The Worldwide Bahá'í Communityجامعهٔ بهائیThe Bahá'í Faith has no denominations.Bahá'í Community of VietnamCộng đồng tôn giáo Baha'i Việt NamNot a separate branch but the national community of the same Faith under the Universal House of Justice.Uses the common symbol of the pathOrthodox Bahá'í FaithOrthodox Bahá'í FaithFollowers of Mason Remey, who in 1960 claimed to be the Guardian after Shoghi Effendi, later led by Joel Marangella.Uses the common symbol of the pathBahá'ís Under the Provisions of the CovenantBahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant (BUPC)Founded by Leland Jensen in Montana in the 1960s and 1970s, also claiming a line of Guardians via Mason Remey.Uses the common symbol of the pathAzali Bábísازلی AzalīNot Bahá'ís.Uses the common symbol of the pathVIIISources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Is the Bahá'í Faith recognised in Vietnam
Yes. The community received a certificate of registration for religious activity in 2007 and recognition as an organisation in 2008 under the name Bahá'í Community of Vietnam. It is one of the sixteen religions recognised by the state.
How many Bahá'ís are there in Vietnam
According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, about 7,000 in 45 provinces and cities as of December 2021. VietNamNet in 2025 also reported about 7,000 in 36 communities.
When did the Bahá'í Faith reach Vietnam
State sources give 1954, when Shirin Fozdar arrived in Saigon. A 2021 study gives the 1920s, when foreign Bahá'ís passed through. The first local assembly was elected in Saigon in 1955.
Is there a Bahá'í House of Worship in Vietnam
Not yet. According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the community meets in local offices and private homes. The nearest House of Worship is in Battambang, Cambodia.