What was the role of religious groups in the development of anti-colonial feeling in Vietnam?

Vietnam’s religious beliefs were a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and local practices. Confucianism was followed by elite class and peasantries were shaped by the Buddhism and local practices. The French missionaries introduced Christianity and tried to convert Vietnamese to Christianity. This was seen as an interference in the religious beliefs of the Vietnamese. This helped to unite them against a common cause and developed a sense of nationalism.

(a) The Scholars’ Revolt:

(i) Started in 1868 and was led by officials at the imperial court against the French domination.

(ii) These officials were angered by the spread of Catholicism and French Power on Vietnamese.

(iii) They led a general uprising in Ngu An and Ha Tien provinces where over a thousand Catholics were killed.

(iv) The movement was crushed by the French but it inspired other patriots to rise up against them.

(b) Hoa Hao Movement:

(i) Another movement called the Hoa Hao movement, started in 1939 in the fertile Mekong delta area by Huynh Phu So.

(ii) It drew on religious ideas popular in anti-French uprising of the nineteenth century. He opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and the use of alcohol and opium.

(iii) The French tried to suppress the movement inspired by Huynh Phu So. They declared him mad. But when in 1941, even the French doctors declared that he was sane, the French authorities exiled him to Loas.

(iv) These movements were of great significance in arousing anti-colonial sentiments in Vietnam.