Cao Dai

Question 1 - Are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Zarathustra or Guru Nanak considered as prophets/saints by you? As you are aware of, Caodaism is a syncretist and spiritist religion. All of our teachings came from divine messages (from God and other divinities such as Jesus Christ, Sakyamuni Buddha, Quan Yin, Confucius, Lao Tze, Victor Hugo, etc...). The first message from God dated April 24, 1926, was as follows : “Formerly, people lacked transportation and therefore did not know each other, I then founded at different epochs and in different areas, five branches of the Great Way: Confucianism, Shintoism, Christianity, Taoism and Buddhism, each based on the customs of the race

(Reported From Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct 12, 2021 - By Phạm Lâm Thiên Ân) On October 3, 2021, Dr. Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Associate Professor and Principal Lecturer of the ‘Cao Dai Religious Tradition’ course, was promoted to take the post of the Chairman of the Department of World Religions and Culture (DWRC) at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, for a 3-year term from October 2021 to October 2024. Dr, Jahangir Alam, born in 1977, started to study Caodaism in 2003 and got a grant from the Cao Dai Overseas Missionary to do his MPhil on Caodaism in 2009. Then, as part of his PhD Research Fieldwork funded by the Cao Dai Overseas Missionary, California, USA, he studied Vietnamese language and culture at the HCM University of Social Sciences and Humanities between 2012 and 2013 and has just been awarded a Doctorate in 2020.

Cao Dai or Caodaism is a spiritist religion, and everything in the religion such as doctrine, philosophy, prayers, rituals, music, organization, management of the religion, comes from spiritist messages either from God, from the Holy Mother Goddess, from Jesus Christ, from Buddha or from many other Divinities. In this regard, there are many messages related to death and dying, mostly prayers and rituals. We hav-Prayer for the sick -Prayer for guiding the dying soul - Prayer after one’s death  - Prayer for the for the ascension of the spirit  - Prayer for placing the body in the coffin - Prayer for the burial procession  - Prayer for the interment of the coffin- Prayers for Postmortem rituals

(News from Taipei  - July 20, 2021) Sub-dignitary Nguyen Tuan Em, Acting Head of the Taipei-based Cao Dai Congregation has just attended a 3-day EASSSR 2021 Jeju Virtual Conference on “ Religion and Peace in East Asia: The Roles of Religion in Times of Crises ”. This conference was jointly held by the East Asian Society for Scientific Study of Religion (EASSSR) and Jeju National University in South Korea. This 3rd EASSSR 2021 Jeju Virtual Conference attracted a total of 81 speakers from 19 different countries. The presentations showed a multi-perspective focus on the contributions of religions in relieving the mass’s sufferings in times of crises, natural disasters and pandemic.

(University of Dhaka, Bangladesh – May 30, 2021) At the invitation of the Bangladesh Society for the Study of Culture and Religion (BSSCR), Dr. Mohammad Jahangir Alam delivered a Keynote Speech on A Socio-historical Overview of the Syncretic Origin of Caodaism at the 2nd Annual Conference of the BSSCR (online via google meet) on  Saturday, May 29, 2021  at  11 am . Dr. Alam is an Associate Professor of the Department of World Religions and Culture at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is considered as  an expert on Caodaism.

( by Rev. Canh Tran April 21, 2021 ) O n the eve of the New Year 2021 (Year of the Buffalo), on behalf of His Eminence Cardinal Thuong Tam Thanh, Chairman of the Cao Dai Sacerdotal Council at the Tay Ninh Holy See, as well as dignitaries in Tay Ninh and Cao Dai Overseas Missionary, we sincerely wish His Excellency Yun Eun-Do, President of Daesoon Jinrihoe, together with his family, the dignitaries of Daesoon Jinrihoe, and the wonderful readers of Global Daesoon GOOD HEALTH, HAPPINESS, LONGEVITY AND PROSPERITY, but above all else we pray you receive

(News from the Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh on February 20, 20 21 - Photos by Thanh Thuy, Huu Loi and Caodai TV group) The program for the Great Festival Commemorating God in the Year of the Ox (2021) was as follows: February 19, 20 21 + 08:00am: - Grand Opening Ceremony of the Great Festival on the front plaza of  the Holy Temple. Cardinal THUONG TAM THANH, Chairman of the Sacerdotal Council of Caodaism delivered the opening speech, and presided over  the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Cardinal then took the guests for an inspection tour of the 28 exhibition booths.  

(From Taipei January 1, 2021 - Report and photos by: Cao Dai Taipei Congregation – Weixin Shengjiao TV) On the morning of the New Year January 1, 2021, a delegation of 5 members of the Cao Dai Taipei Congregation, consisting of : 1. Sub-dignitary Nguyen Tuan Em, Acting Cao Dai Congregation Chief, Delegation leader 2. Sub-dignitary Ly Thi Thuy Trang - Secretary of the Congregation 3. Ms. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, member 4. Ms. Nguyen Le Hong An, member 5. Mr. Duong Van Trinh, member attended the 15th annual "Chinese United Worship Ceremony" at the invitation of Dr. Fiona Hsin-Fang Chang, Director, Research and Development

(Taipei 12/12/2020 – Reported by Taipei Cao Dai Congregation) On 11 December 2020, Sub-dignitary Nguyen Tuan Em, Congregation Chief and Ly Thi Thuy Trang, Secretary of the Taiwan Taipei-based Cao Dai Congregation, both participated in a Virtual International Conference called “ New Religions in East Asia: Development and Internationalization ” at the Invitation from the Graduate Institute for Religious Studies, Cheng Chi University, Taiwan.  

(Taipei, Taiwan, 21st Nov 2020 – Reported by Taipei Caodai Congregation) Following the invitation of Reverend Thuong Canh Thanh (President of Cao Dai Overseas Missionary) and Taipei Caodai Congregation, at 10:30AM on November 21st 2020, the delegation consisting of 11 delegates from Weixin Shengjiao (Taichung, Taiwan), Daesoon Jinrihoe (South Korea) and Taiwan Cheng Chi University paid a visit to the worship place of Taipei Cao Dai Congregation.

(Westminster, California, Nov 22, 2020 – By Rev. Canh Tran) As researchers and scholars are aware of, Caodaism is a spiritist religion, based completely on divine messages received from God and other Divinities to establish the religion in 1926 in Viet Nam. Many people consider SPIRITISM as an occult activity, and nobody comes up with the idea or concept to consider it as a religion. Until now. An article written by a freelance journalist Meagan Drillinger on Sep. 16, 2020, has listed the “20 Largest Religions in the World”, in which CAO DAI is ranked No. 15 and SPIRITISM is ranked No. 10. Here are the 20 religions mentioned

(Manhattan, Kansas, Nov 9, 2020 – Reported and translated by Thanh Thuy Caodai TV). On November 9 th , 2020 (Fall semester), Professor Dr. Michael Wesch gave an introduction lecture of the Cao Dai Religion to his students at Kansas State University (USA). This lecture is within the “Introduction to World's Religions” course, Anthropology major. The Kansas State University (USA) - the oldest public institution of higher learning in the state of Kansas, was founded in 1863, and ranked #170 in National Universities (according to the latest report of U.S. News & World Report).

(Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See, October 25, 2020 - Pictures by Huu Loi - Report by Thanh Thuy) On October 25, 2020, the filmmaking team of Arab24 News Agency (A24 News Agency) led by Mr. Nguyen Ha Le and a photographer came to Tay Ninh Holy See to do a reportage on the Cao Dai religion. According to the schedule of the delegation, at 10:00 am, His Eminence Cardinal Thuong Tam Thanh, Chairman of the Cao Dai Sacerdotal Council, welcomed the film crew and gave an interview at the Cardinal’s Office.  

(Saigon October 9, 2020 – Photos taken by Deacon Thuong Van Thanh) At the invitation of Ms. Marie C. D’Amour, Consul General of the United States of America in  Ho Chi Minh City, at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020, His Eminence Cardinal Thuong Tam Thanh, Chairman of the Cao Dai Sacerdotal Council Tay Ninh Holy See, together with Deacon Thuong Van Thanh, Deputy Head of Cao Dai Overseas Missionary, came to the residence of  the US Consul General on Nguyen Du Street, HCMC, to attend the reception in honor of the 244th Anniversary of the American Independence Day

(Dhaka Oct. 7, 2020 - Reported by Rev. Canh Tran) The Vice Chancellor of the University of Dhaka, Professor Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman handed over a cheque of MPhil Research Grant of Cao Dai Overseas Missionary (CDOM), California, USA, for this year 2020 to Injamam Mahbub Mojumder at his office on Wednesday October, 7, 2020. The Chairperson of the Department of World Religions and Culture, Professor Dr. Fazrin Huda and Dr. Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Associate Professor were present at the event