📋 Tender Overview
Whether or not the Law can come to life depends entirely on the details and specifics of the Decree. If it is not clearly stipulated, the Law will be at risk of being invalidated in practice. This was the emphasis of Deputy Minister of Ethnic Affairs and Religions Nguyen Hai Trung at the Workshop asking for opinions on religious and religious activities in cyberspace and religious activities outside belief establishments organized by the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions on July 9. Download Workshop to seek opinions on belief and religious activities in cyberspace and belief activities outside of belief establishments - Photo: VGP The online environment must also comply with the same rights and obligations as the real environment. The 2026 Law on Belief and Religion was passed by the XVI National Assembly, First Session on April 23, 2026 and takes effect from January 1, 2027. To implement the law, the Government is developing a Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of about 1/3 of the provisions. Currently, the Drafting Committee has developed a draft Decree consisting of 7 chapters and 78 articles. This is considered a particularly important but also very complicated task. A notable new feature of the Law is the addition of regulations on belief and religious activities in cyberspace, clearly defining the subjects allowed to do so, the content of activities and responsibilities of relevant agencies, organizations and individuals. At the workshop to comment on the draft Decree, delegates agreed that the cyber environment must also comply with the same rights and obligations as the real environment. Accordingly, only legal religious organizations and individuals recognized by the State are allowed to carry out belief and religious activities in cyberspace. Any act of taking advantage of the online environment to distort, defame or operate contrary to regulations needs to be strictly handled. Many opinions propose mandatory application of electronic identification for subjects participating in religious activities in cyberspace; At the same time, strictly manage links and social network accounts and research legal mechanisms to control religious activities with cross-border elements. For religious activities outside religious establishments, experts recommend that the Decree clearly identify cases where registration is required, especially activities that take place in public places or have the risk of affecting common space, security and order. Along with that are solutions to prevent the distortion and commercialization of spirituality, especially the phenomenon of businesses hiding in the shadow of religious activities for profit. Download Deputy Minister of Ethnic Affairs and Religions Nguyen Hai Trung: The Decree detailing the implementation of the Law on Belief and Religion has a particularly important meaning, and is also a difficult task - Photo: VGP Clear subject, transparent responsibility Deputy Minister of Ethnic Affairs and Religions Nguyen Hai Trung said that the Drafting Committee will seriously accept all comments to complete the draft. According to the Deputy Minister, the Law on Belief and Religion 2026 is already a law with a complex scope of regulation, so the development of the guiding Decree requires even more rigor and caution. Regarding regulations on belief and religious activities in cyberspace, the Deputy Minister commented that the way Article 8 is designed in the current draft still overlaps procedures between the real environment and the online environment. He requested the Drafting Committee to review and redesign the provisions in the direction of clearly defining the subjects and content of activities allowed to be carried out in cyberspace, and at the same time refer consistently to the provisions of the Law. Accordingly, organizations and individuals can only deploy activities in cyberspace after completing the corresponding administrative procedures in the real environment, such as notification, registration or approval by a competent authority. In addition, the Decree needs to clearly stipulate the responsibilities of organizations and individuals participating in online religious activities, the responsibilities of state management agencies and coordination mechanisms with relevant forces such as cybersecurity and telecommunications. The Deputy Minister also proposed adding prohibited acts and sanctions for handling violations in cyberspace to increase deterrence and prevent violations. Regarding the criteria for determining religious activities outside of religious establishments that must be registered, the development of criteria should aim to accurately identify activities that risk affecting security, order and social safety, while ensuring regulations are specific enough to be implemented, transparent to apply and consistent with practice.Son HaoSee moreFocus on developing a Decree guiding the implementation of the Law on Belief and Religion (amended)See moreClarifying many issues New topics in the draft Law on Beliefs and ReligionsSee moreCompleting the draft Law on Beliefs and Religions: View from practice
