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Religious
Practice in US
Rituals,
often involving the sacrifice and blood letting of animals, are practiced
regularly to appease the spirits.
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Religion
The traditional religion of the Montagnards is animism, characterized
by a keen sensitivity to nature and a belief that spirits are present
and active in the natural world. These spirits are both good and bad.
Rituals, often involving the sacrifice and blood letting of animals, are
practiced regularly to appease the spirits. While the Montagnards still
practice animism in Vietnam, those in the United States are Christian
and for the most part do not practice the traditional religion.
Christianity was introduced to the Montagnards in Vietnam in the 1850s
by French Catholic missionaries. Some Montagnards embraced Catholicism,
incorporating aspects of animism into their system of worship.
By the 1930s, American Protestant missionaries were also active in the
Highlands. The Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical fundamentalist
denomination, had a particularly strong presence. Through the work of
the Summer Institutes of Linguistics, these highly committed missionaries
learned various tribal languages, developed written alphabets, translated
the Bible into the languages, and taught the Montagnards to read the Bible
in their own languages. The Montagnards who were converted to Protestant
Christianity were expected to make a full break from their animist traditions.
The sacrifice of Jesus as the Christ and the ritual of communion became
a substitute for animal sacrifice and blood rituals.
Mission schools and churches became important social institutions in
the Highlands. Native pastors were locally trained and ordained. Montagnard
Christians experienced a new sense of self-worth and empowerment, and
the church became a strong influence in the Montagnard quest for political
autonomy. Even though most Montagnard peoples did not claim church membership,
the influence of the church was felt throughout the society. The U.S.
military alliance during the Vietnam War reinforced the Montagnard linkage
with the American Protestant missionary movement. The oppression of the
church in the Highlands by the current Vietnamese regime is rooted in
this dynamic.
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Churches
are a primary social institution for the Montagnards in the United States.
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Religious
Practice in the United States
The vast majority of the Montagnard refugees in the United States are
Christian. Most are Protestant though probably over one-third, or about
1,000 people, are Roman Catholic.
Churches are a primary social institution for the Montagnards in the
United States. In North Carolina, many native churches are active in Raleigh,
Greensboro, and Charlotte, the three primary cities that have resettled
the Montagnards, although English-speaking Montagnards who wish to be
acculturated into the wider American society have joined mainstream churches.
Catholic Montagnards generally attend a Vietnamese or an English-speaking
church, while evangelical Protestants attend Montagnard or English-speaking
churches. Greensboro has a Catholic Montagnard and Vietnamese congregation
with a Vietnamese priest and a Montagnard deacon.
Among the Protestant churches, differences appear to be more political
and linguistic than theological. Some churches prefer a tribal identity,
others want a church that provides more support to the resistance movement
in Vietnam, and still others seek a congregation that emphasizes inclusion
and reconciliation and seeks to reduce differences and divisions.
Most Montagnard Christians embrace their religion as a singular force
that has transformed their people, viewing it as a means not only of personal
salvation but also of cultural preservation and dignity. There is a strong
identification with the suffering of the ancient Israelites. The notion
of the promised land-the covenanted community-and the belief that Jesus
was sacrificed for them resonates with the Montagnards. Daily activities,
however, may not differ that much from those of other low-income people
and other new arrivals who are seeking to adapt to their new communities
and become self sufficient.
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CULTURE PROFILE