Dong Nai province is located in the southern focal economic zone with defense, security and socio – economic significance to the region. There are 6 main religions active in the province with nearly 2 million followers accounting for 68% of its population. In particular, Buddhism accounts for 22.86% and Christian religion accounts for 34.71% with nearly 22,000 dignitaries of different religions. In the resistance wars as well as in the cause of Homeland protection nowadays, religious followers together with nonreligious people in the province have gained considerable achievements. Especially, in the years of renewal, religious communities have always promoted solidarity and self-reliance to boost socio-economic growth, strengthen defense and security, yielding high growth rate for the province. However, Dong Nai is faced with many challenges, namely: hardships in the lives of a number of people, including religious ones; overseas hostile forces in combination with domestic extremists leveraging democratic, human rights, ethnic and religious matters to conduct sabotages badly affecting political security and social safety and order. Facing the matter, to maintain its political security and stability, social safety and order, the fast and sustainable development, the province has carried out a number of solutions synchronously in political, economic, cultural, social, defense, security fields, etc. In particular, it has paid great attention to defense and security education for religious dignitaries.

The province demands its junior levels and localities to grasp and apply creatively and flexibly guidelines and policies on religion and belief of the Party and State during the implementation. Its cities, towns, districts, departments and sectors, particularly military offices at all levels are requested to study and grasp documents of upper levels guiding and directing defense and security education and policies on religion and belief for cadres and people. First and foremost, enhancing the awareness of cadres, directly those involving in the work, to create an unification in guideline and method of implementation. The Provincial Council for Defense and Security Education has upheld its advisory role for the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee in building and promulgating directives, plans for leading, directing, and implementing defense and security training for religious dignitaries suitably with each religion in the locality.

During the implementation, the council has brought into play its role as the permanent office in coordinating with functional boards and sectors to hold training courses. Since 2006, adhering to the direction of the Council for defense and security education of the Military Region 7, the Provincial Council for Defense and Security Education has chosen Trang Bom district as the host place for holding defense and security training courses for religious dignitaries. Accordingly, the Provincial Military High Command has coordinated closely with the Provincial Fatherland Front, the Provincial Religious Commission, the Provincial Public Work Commission and directed the Trang Bom Military Command to grasp the quality and quantity of religious dignitaries in order to build detail and feasible plans of training. Over the past 10 years, the province has held 129 courses for more than 18,000 religious dignitaries, thereby raising their awareness and responsibility  for the mission of Homeland construction and protection. The knowledge gained from these courses was then integrated in the practice of dignitaries making other religious followers aware of the defense and security mission and approve of the Party and State’s guidelines and policies. In their prayers at churches and in their spiritual activities in the religious communities, priests usually spend time on propagating viewpoints, guidelines, and policies on religion of the Party and State, the Law on Military Service, the Law on Militia and Self Defense Forces, etc and remind religious followers to be vigilant against the plots to undermine the great unity bloc and separate authorities from religious communities. Recently, facing the tension on the East Sea, the Bishop of the Xuan Loc Cathedral sent a letter requesting that religious people stay calm, alert and believe in the leadership of the Party, the direction of the State and the Ministry of National Defense, not be incited by bad people. The work of dignitaries has helped religious communities understand more deeply about the rights and responsibilities of citizens; unite and support each other in alleviating poverty sustainably, getting rich and combating against social evils in their communities.

To unceasingly enhance the quality of training, the province attaches importance to the content, program and teacher staff. Basing on the program of upper level, the provincial council for defense and security education studied and supplemented some contents to make it relevant to the local defense mission and religious situation in the area. Besides, it usually updates border and island situations and viewpoints and guidelines of the Party and State; information about the socio-economic development, defense and security tasks of the country and the province, etc to prevent and combat hostile forces’ plot of leveraging religions to carry out “Peaceful Evolution” strategy.

With the achievements gained in the defense and security education in general, defense and security training for religious dignitaries in particular, Dong Nai is regarded as one of the best localities in defense and security education and awarded with a Third-class Fatherland Protection Order for the 2010 – 2015 period. This is the premise and momentum for the province to continue its defense and security training for religious dignitaries, contributing to building the potentials and posture of the all people’s defense and people’s security, meeting the requirements of the Homeland protection mission in the new situation.

Senior Colonel Tran Ngoc Khai

Vice Chairman of the Provincial Council for Defense and Security Education

Commander of the Provincial Military High Command