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A BRIEF REPORT ON THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF CAODAISM IN THE DEPARTMENT OF WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA, BANGLADESH

A BRIEF REPORT ON THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF CAODAISM IN THE DEPARTMENT OF WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Updated 2023-06-26 20:20:27

(Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See, June 26, 2023 – Reported by Rev. Canh Tran)

The Department of World Religions and Culture has already passed more than two decades since its foundation at the University of Dhaka in 1999. It is important to mention that Cao Dai Religious Traditions started its journey in the Department of World Religions and Culture in 2002 right after a visit of a Cao Dai delegation headed by Rev. Tran Quang Canh, former President of Cao Dai Overseas Missionary. From then on around 1200 students have already studied Caodaism. One PhD dissertation, three M.Phil. theses and two M.A. Research Monographs have been produced.

It is also good news for the Cao Dai world that the study of Caodaism in the Department of World Religions and Culture at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh has completed its two decades. As the department has been an excellent center for research and innovation, the academic study of Cao Dai religion interests more and more students. It should be noted that under the proper guidance and supervision of Professor Mohammad Alam, the current Chairman of the Department, students are doing thorough study of Caodaism as scientifically as possible. As a result, one of the unique features of the religious study of Caodaism in the Department is that all the students accept the differences of other religions. This is due to the students attempting the academic approach that goes in line with the mission of the department. One of the major missions of the department, for example, is to promote peace and harmony through interfaith education with a view to impacting national integration and making relevantization of religious thoughts and knowledge to contemporary issues. In regard to this fact Cao Dai religion is also serving the purpose of the department in the same line with other major religions of the world. As Professor Mohammad Alam is a committed Cao Dai scholar, he is continuing his research from different aspects of Caodaism. At the same time, in addition to teaching Caodaism in B.A. program (regular program that is compulsory for all students), he is doing his job in supervising research students who are interested in Caodaism in doing research monographs in M.A. and thesis in M.Phil programs.

The chart shows the total number of the students studied Caodaism in fifteen years as follows:

Serial Number	Session	Year	Total Students	% of Pass in the Final Exam
01	2005-2006	2008	33	100%
02	2006-2007	2009	63	100%
03	2007-2008	2010	44	100%
04	2008-2009	2011	55	100%
05	2009-2010	2012	64	100%
06	2010-2011	2013	52	100%
07	2011-2012	2014	48	100%
08	2012-2013	2015	73	100%
09	2013-2014	2016	65	100%
10	2014-2015	2017	69	100%
11	2015-2016	2018	84	100%
12	2016-2017	2019	75	100%
13	2017-2018	2020	85	100%
14	2018-2019	2021	86	100%
15	2019-2020	2022	87	100%

Total students studied Caodaism= 984

Note:

-Cao Dai Knowledge disseminated with more than 1000 participants through seminars and conferences.

-Total active learners of Caodaism are around 2000.

-Counted from :

-2008-2023 (Year of the Exam)

-2005-2006-2019-2020 (Academic Sessions)

The following tables show the current result status of Caodaism in the Department of World Religions and Culture:

Table 1

Batch	Session	Exam Year	Number of Students	Average marks Scored	Highest Score	Percentage of Pass
15	2019-2020	2022	87	65	80	100

Table 2 shows the research activities of Professor Mohammad Alam in Caodaism:

Name of Researcher	Research Type	Year of the Degree Awarded/Publication	Title of thesis/Dissertation/ Book/Articles
Mohammad Jahangir Alam	M.Phil.	2009	The Concept of Unity in Bahaism and Caodaism: A Comparative Study
	Book	2010	The Concept of Unity in Baha’i Faith and Caodaism
	PhD	2020	Dao Cao Dai: A Socio-historical Analysis of a Syncretic Vietnamese religion and its relationship to Other religions
	Articles/ Book Chapter	2022	A critical analysis in quest of the relationship between Caodaism and New Religious Movements: Comparison and appraisal. The Arts Faculty Journal (Special)
		2020	Exploring Cao Dai Holy Books and Literatures: A Brief Overview. Karickam, Abraham et al. (Eds.), Holy Books and World Literature. Cosmic Community Centre and Dr. Alexander Marthoma Centre for Dialogue, 120-
		2010	The Spirit of Cao Dai Philanthropy. Philosophy and Progress, XLVII-XLVIII. 105-112.
		2007	Cao Dai Understanding of God. Philosophy and Progress, XLI-XLII. 169-180
	Conference/ Seminar papers	2021	A Socio-historical Overview of the Syncretic Origin of Caodaism." The Study of Religion and Culture in Bangladesh Dhaka
		2019	Understanding Holy Books and Literatures: Cao Dai Perspective"." 8th Holy Books and World Literature Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
		2019	A Critical Analysis in Quest of the Relationship between Caodaism and New Religious Movements: Comparison and Appraisal." the 2019 Cesnur Conference Turin, Italy
		2018	Western and Asian Acculturation in Vietnam and the Rise of Cao Dai Movement”." CESNUR 2018 International Conference Nantou City, Taiwan
		2018	Humanistic Approach of Sikhism: A Critical Overview”." Religion for Peace and Understanding: Sikh-Bahai-Cao Dai Perspectives Dhaka, Bangladesh
		2017	In Search of the original Cosmic Design: Cao Dai Perspective." Seventh International Holy Books Conference Bangkok, Thailand
		2023	Caodaism: An Excellent Example of Religious Integration, Dev Centre for Philosophical Study, University of Dhaka
		2023 to be presented on 26 July, 2023	The Concept of Interfaith Harmony in Sikhism and Caodaism. JDTREA Conference 2023: Daesoon Thought & the Religions of East Asia on the Global Stage, Daejin University in Korea (the conference itself is an online conference).

Table 3 shows some research works in different years under the supervision of Professor Mohammad Alam:

Programs	Name of the Research Students under the supervision of Professor Alam	Title	Year-Degree Awarded
M.A. Research Monograph	Md. Mezbah Uddin Mridha Master of Arts Examination Roll: 2517 Department of World Religions and Culture University of Dhaka	The Active Role of Caodaism and Oomoto-kyo in Interfaith Activities: A Challenge to Change in Society	2017
M.A. Research Monograph	Md. Mosleh Uddin Exam Roll: 2511 Class roll: 297 M. A. Second Semester	CaoDai Views on Human Rights: A Critical Analysis	2017
M.Phil.	Injamam Mahbub Mojumder Master of Philosophy Roll No. 48, Session: 2018-2019 Registration No. 48/2018-2019	Concept of Interreligious Harmony in Sikhism and Caodaism: A Comparative Study	2023
M.Phil.	Arefin Hai Sourav	Understanding of Interfaith Harmony in Baha’i Faith and Caodaism	admission in progress