Caodaist scholarship manifest in Riga

Updated 2012-05-14 13:19:13

 The Caodaist Overseas Missionary has, for the last few years now, been assisting scholars in their research on Caodaism. This year was no different with the Missionary helping Dr Sergei Blagov and I attend the CESNUR conference in Riga, Latvia. Now it might take some thinking to link Dao Cao Dai with the very extremities of Europe but nevertheless, this meeting of scholars presented a great chance for fostering interest in the religion at a scholarly and international level.

 

In my travels through France and Italy, I was surprised to discover that very few Western Europeans knew where Latvia was, and so I also suspect that even fewer Vietnamese would and so allow me to provide a brief description: Latvia is the middle of three Baltic states that isolate the north-western part of Russia from the Baltic sea. Thus they form the opposite shore of that sea to Finland and Sweden. These states are very small, Latvia covers about 64,000 square kilometres. Like Vietnam, these countries continue to live under the very imposing presence of an extremely powerful neighbour, in Latvia’s case, Russia. The country’s recent liberation from the communist system shows many patterns of development that we might see take place in a liberated Vietnam.

 

One of these patterns should prove very interesting to all Caodaists. I refer to the incredible renewal of interest in pre-existing religions by today’s Latvians. In fact one of the local conference organisers, Solvega Kumina-Konkova, noted that during the communist occupation of Latvia very few people dared to align themselves to a religion or to seek the religious life. After liberation, however, Dr Kumina-Konkova told the conference, it is very hard today to find an atheist in Latvia. So it seems the entire country has turned itself towards a religious pursuit. Churches resound once again with the spirits of the heavens and Latvians, like other citizens of the Baltic states, have started once more seeking out the ways of the gods. Many of them seem particularly interested in the nature-worshipping pagan religions that existed in these areas before the introduction of Christianity which took place less than a thousand years ago. If a similar pattern of religious reinvigoration plays itself out in Vietnam, then such a development will pose an interesting problem for Caodaists - how to deal with such an incredible influx of renewed interest in things religious and a dramatic increase in membership of the faith. Countries such as Latvia hold many answers to what may very well happen in Vietnam in the coming years. This great renewal of interest in the religious life of their country was also part of the reason behind the University of Latvia’s eagerness to host an international conference such as CESNUR.

 

CESNUR - or the Centre for the Study of New Religious Movements is a scholarly-based organisation that operates from its headquarters in Italy. Massimo Introvigne, the president of the organisation noted in his opening address that although each annual conference of CESNUR was either hosted in Europe or North America, he was very happy to welcome delegates from as far away as Australia. As I was the only Australian to make it to the conference, I felt especially welcome!

 

On the second day of the conference, Dr Sergei Blagov presented his paper on the development of the Caodaist army during and immediately following the Second World War. This is a paper that helps unveil a very interesting period of Caodaist history and as its title suggests, Sergei is going a long way to examining the relationship between the aims of a peaceful and universalist religion like Caodaism and the development of its army. The fact that such a religion could have its own army seems at first glance incongruous. But when put in the sort of context that Sergei is able to describe. The development of the military arm of the faith becomes much more understandable. This is where religious scholarship has a vital use: to help others better understand the complexities of certain developments, developments which at first glance and under rash judgement, can seem very incongruous.

 

My paper was not scheduled for the same session as Sergei’s, but for the following afternoon. About 30 to 40 academics were in the audience. Before I spoke the esteemed American scholar J. Gordon Melton rose to speak about recent developments in African religions. He took the chance to tell those present that as academics of new religious movements, it was important for more of them to study more closely the religions of Africa. It is a continent that has been largely ignored by scholars. His talk provided me with a great opportunity to say the same thing about Asia, and of course for Vietnam and religions such as Caodaism. My paper examined the relationship of Vo-Vi and Pho Do in Caodaism, its importance for Tay Ninh and its background in Chinese religious thought. It seems that my paper was well received. The work that Sergei and I are doing is impressing upon scholars the need to recognise the importance of Caodaism. In fact Dr Melton, who is currently compiling an encyclopedia of religions with the famous religions scholar Ninnian Smart, invited me to contribute an entry on Caodaism to their work. This is a great opportunity for someone who knows the religion well to write an informed entry in a significant work of reference. Also, during the conference, Dr Jean-Francois Meyer, the eminent new religions scholar from Friebourg University in Switzerland asked me to contribute a chapter on Caodaism to a book he is writing on the new religions of the world. So this conference presented two very good opportunities for spreading information on Caodaism. I think it also shows that in the two years that Sergei and I have been attending the CESNUR conferences, a great deal was able to be achieved in terms of encouraging scholars around the world to learn and understand more about the Caodaist faith.

 

In one of my previous reports to this paper I noted my surprise that after three years of solitary study that there were others also studying Dao Cao Dai. Well, since then postgraduate students at Uppsala University in Sweden and Harvard University in America have emailed me to tell me that they are also studying the religion. So it seems as though a renaissance of Caodaist studies is about to take place, and this is in no small part due to the amazing hospitality of Caodaists everywhere and the regular support of the Caodaist Overseas Missionary. I thank you all.