tailieunhanh - New Religious Phenomena of Ethnic Minorities in the Central Highlands at Present

This is the place, where new religious phenomena have been found most in Vietnam now. Especially, religious organizations have appeared and developed rapidly among local ethnic minorities; some organizations have their own characteristics with a large scope of activity and profound influence, but too few research works have been done. | New Religious Phenomena of Ethnic Minorities in the Central Highlands at Present Nguyen Van Minh* Abstract: For the past few years, new religious phenomena in Vietnam have attracted much attention from researchers of different disciplines. Although the number of publications on this issue still remains limited, they have provided a preliminary assessment of the new phenomena. The paper focuses on analyzing some major characteristics of the phenomena and their influence on socio-economic development, political stability, and social order in the area of ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands at present. This is the place, where new religious phenomena have been found most in Vietnam now. Especially, religious organizations have appeared and developed rapidly among local ethnic minorities; some organizations have their own characteristics with a large scope of activity and profound influence, but too few research works have been done. Key words: New religious phenomena; religion; faith; the Central Highlands. 1. Introduction* those of new religious phenomena, have attracted a large number of believers. At the peak periods, thousands of people were induced to take part in activities of the new religious phenomena such as “Degar Protestantism” and “Hà Mòn” in many locations. Dissemination and development of new religious phenomena have caused negative impacts on social life, resulting in stressful and anxious mentality among a part of population and religious believers, as well as sowing division in the great national unity and complicating the local situation. As a result, most of the new religious phenomena are not recognized officially by the local government; and, local authorities often carry out From 1986 up to now, there have been more and more new religious phenomena appear in the Central Highlands, especially in the ethnic minorities area. In 2015, the number of new religious phenomena in this area amounted to 20. They have different origins, scopes, .