TL;DR: Belief is a form of faith expressed through rituals tied to traditional customs and practices, bringing spiritual peace to individuals and communities, and is respected and protected by law. Superstition is belief in false, unfounded things, often linked to profiteering, and is strictly prohibited by law. The main legal basis is the Law on Belief and Religion (Law No. 02/2016/QH14, effective from January 1, 2018), which defines belief, belief activities, belief facilities, belief festivals, and prohibited acts, along with Decree 110/2018/ND-CP on the management and organization of festivals. Superstitious acts can be subject to administrative fines ranging from a few hundred thousand to several tens of millions of dong, and in more serious cases can lead to criminal liability with prison sentences of up to 10 years.
How do folk belief and superstitious practice differ?
Folk belief is human faith expressed through rituals tied to traditional customs and practices, meant to bring spiritual peace of mind to individuals and the community. Superstitious practice is belief in wrong, unfounded things, often exploited for personal gain. The core difference lies in the reasonableness of the belief, the purpose of the practice and the consequences it brings to individuals and society.
Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Belief and Religion (Law No. 02/2016/QH14, in force from 1 January 2018) defines folk belief as human faith expressed through rituals tied to traditional customs and practices in order to bring spiritual peace of mind to individuals and the community. In the same article, belief activity is defined as the worship of ancestors, the worship of sacred symbols, the commemoration and honouring of people who rendered service to the country and the community, along with folk rituals typical of historical, cultural and social-moral values. A belief establishment is a place where belief activity is carried out, including communal houses, temples, shrines, small shrines, family chapels and clan halls. A belief festival is a collective belief activity organised according to traditional rituals to meet the spiritual needs of the community.
Superstitious practice, meanwhile, has no separate legal definition in the Law on Belief and Religion. The concept depends on how each person and each religion sees it. Many experts hold that superstition is believing nonsense, believing rubbish, following blindly without seeing or understanding, harming the material and spiritual life of people.
According to folk culture researcher Nguyễn Hùng Vĩ, folk belief is a broad category, covering both ancient beliefs and the beliefs of religions. Within belief there is a smaller set: superstitions. He analyses it this way: tin means to believe, nguong means to look up in reverence, while me tin is believing in wrong things; di doan is believing in things strange compared with religions and science. The negative problem lies in exploiting superstitious practice for gain, even for fraud.
From an academic angle, Đặng Nghiêm Vạn in the book Ly luan ve ton giao va tinh hinh ton giao o Viet Nam (Theory of Religion and the Religious Situation in Vietnam, National Political Publishing House, 2001) raises the question of distinguishing folk belief from superstitious practice on the basis of the social function of belief and ritual: folk belief is tied to the community, to the morality and customs handed down, while superstitious practice lies in belief that has drifted from that basis and is often exploited for gain. Ngô Đức Thịnh (editor-in-chief) in Tin nguong va van hoa tin nguong o Viet Nam (Belief and Belief Culture in Vietnam, Social Sciences Publishing House, 2001) puts forward the concept of belief culture, viewing belief as a part of culture, with values that need to be properly recognised and preserved. These are academic views, helping to distinguish at the level of understanding; they do not replace legal grounds.
What are the legal grounds distinguishing folk belief from superstitious practice?
The most important legal ground is the Law on Belief and Religion (Law No. 02/2016/QH14, in force from 1 January 2018), together with the decrees guiding its implementation and the 2015 Penal Code. The Law affirms that the State respects and protects everyone's right to freedom of belief and religion, and strictly prohibits acts of exploiting belief or religious activity for gain or to infringe social order and safety.
Article 5 of the Law on Belief and Religion lists prohibited acts, including discrimination and prejudice on grounds of belief or religion; insulting belief or religion; exploiting belief or religious activity to infringe social order and safety, harm social morality, obstruct the exercise of citizens' rights and duties, or seek gain. This is precisely the legal boundary between proper belief practice and prohibited superstitious practice.
On the management and organisation of festivals, Decree 110/2018/ND-CP (issued on 29 August 2018, in force from 15 October 2018) strictly prohibits exploiting festivals to practise superstition, and requires that the burning of incense and votive paper be done in the designated places, suited to the space of the relic site and to conditions ensuring fire prevention and fighting safety.
On administrative penalties, Article 15 of Decree 158/2013/ND-CP provides for a warning or a fine of 200,000 to 500,000 dong for burning votive paper in the wrong place at a festival venue or historical or cultural relic site. A fine of 3 million to 5 million dong applies to exploiting mediumship, fortune-telling, spirit summoning, divination stick drawing, divination block tossing, talisman burying, incantation, the spreading of prophetic verses and other similar forms for gain.
In addition, the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations as amended in 2020 identifies the field of belief and religion as an area of administrative penalty, with a maximum fine of 30 million dong for individuals and 60 million dong for organisations. A draft decree of the Ministry of Home Affairs also proposes specific fine levels, such as 5 to 10 million dong for exploiting belief or religious activity for gain; 10 to 15 million dong for harming social morality, infringing the body, health, life or property of others, or insulting their honour and dignity; and 15 to 20 million dong for infringing national defence, security, national sovereignty, order and social safety.
Comparison table of folk belief and superstitious practice
| Criterion | Folk belief | Superstitious practice |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the belief | Belief in the sacred, oriented toward good, with cultural and historical foundations | Belief in wrong things, unfounded, blind |
| Purpose | To bring spiritual peace of mind to individuals and the community | Usually aimed at gain, fraud, causing confusion |
| Form | Ancestor worship, commemoration of people who rendered service, folk rituals | Fortune-telling for gain, spirit summoning, talisman burying, incantation, spreading prophetic verses |
| Attitude of the law | Respected and protected | Strictly prohibited and rejected |
| Sanction | No penalty | Administrative fine, possible criminal liability |
How are acts of superstitious practice penalised?
Acts of superstitious practice may be subject to administrative penalties or criminal liability, depending on the nature and severity of the violation. In addition, officials, public employees and public servants who violate the rules may also face disciplinary action; if they are Party members, depending on the severity they may be reprimanded or expelled from the Party.
On administrative penalties, under Article 15 of Decree 158/2013/ND-CP, the act of exploiting mediumship, fortune-telling, spirit summoning, divination stick drawing, divination block tossing, talisman burying, incantation, the spreading of prophetic verses and other similar forms for gain is fined 3 million to 5 million dong. The act of reviving customs and practices that affect people's health and personality and Vietnam's cultural traditions is fined 5 million to 10 million dong. Violators may also be required to hand over the illegal profits obtained.
On criminal liability, Article 320 of the 2015 Penal Code sets out the offence of practising superstition. Anyone who uses fortune-telling, mediumship or other forms of superstition, having already been administratively penalised for this act or having been convicted of this offence without the conviction being expunged and then reoffending, is fined 10 million to 100 million dong, sentenced to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years, or imprisoned for 6 months to 3 years.
Committing the offence in one of the following cases carries a prison sentence of 3 to 10 years: causing death; obtaining illegal profit of 200 million dong or more; causing a negative impact on security, order and social safety. Offenders may also be fined 10 million to 50 million dong. If damage is caused to others, the violator must also pay compensation under the 2015 Civil Code.
Why is the boundary between folk belief and superstitious practice fragile?
The boundary between religious and belief practice and superstitious practice in the community today is at times and in places quite fragile. The main reason is that the same ritual and the same place of worship can be lawful or a violation depending on how it is practised and for what purpose.
A typical example is hau dong (mediumship ritual) in Mother Goddess worship. This is an intangible cultural heritage that is preserved, but if it is distorted for gain, pressuring participants to contribute money, it becomes superstitious practice. Similarly, burning votive paper at temples and pagodas is a long-standing custom, but burning votive paper indiscriminately, burning mansions, cars and refrigerators on the notion that the other world mirrors this one, is both contrary to Buddhist teachings and wasteful, polluting and a potential fire hazard. Decree 110/2018/ND-CP also requires that the burning of incense and votive paper be done in the designated places and ensure safety.
Researcher Nguyễn Hùng Vĩ holds that in social life today, the cultural element of belief plays a very important role. We respect freedom of belief, yet we must still fight phenomena that exploit superstitious practice. What mediums and spirit mediums put forward has no basis at all for belief, especially when they demand payment or material contributions, which is precisely the act of exploiting spirituality to practise superstition for gain.
Another manifestation is the inappropriate use of small change, stuffing money into the hands of Buddha statues, tucking money into flower vases and worship objects, which causes offence and affects the solemnity and appearance of relic sites. At some festivals, people who are overly superstitious even fight and snatch offerings to seek good luck, causing loss of security and order.
How violations of superstitious practice on social media are actually handled
The explosion of technology and social media has created a favourable environment for many who trade in the sacred to spread distorted belief values for gain. This is a new type of violation, harder to control than traditional superstitious practice.
A typical case is a TikTok account claiming to be a "medium of the water bowl", with more than 461,000 followers, advertising that it can clearly see a viewer's destiny, career, fortune and misfortunes. This account also sold bracelets said to have been cleansed and enchanted, promising to push away bad luck and advance one's career. In addition, another medium who told fortunes using white roses also claimed that just by looking at a flower she could see through everything about a person's destiny, career, fortune and love life.
One case that was dealt with strictly is that of the medium T.T.H, known as the "betel medium", with the saying "right when it fits, argue when it does not". Within just 2 months of posting her first clip, this person's TikTok account had more than 150,000 followers. In February 2023, the medium T.T.H was administratively fined 7.5 million dong by the police of Kinh Môn town, Hải Dương province, for the act of encouraging superstitious practice. Afterwards, local people reported that this medium had taken 180 million dong to perform a ritual to sell a house, with signs of fraud and misappropriation of money. The investigation agency of the Kinh Môn town police prosecuted the suspect for the offence of fraud and misappropriation of property.
The above cases show the considerable influence of social media and crowd psychology. People are very quick to follow along, to trust unfounded pronouncements, and then to be exploited both spiritually and materially.
What should people do to avoid falling into the trap of superstitious practice?
The most effective prevention is to raise knowledge of the law and clearly understand the nature of folk belief. Once people grasp the legal provisions, they can distinguish for themselves what is proper belief practice and what is superstitious practice for gain.
The authorities need to enforce the existing sanctions strictly, while continuing to improve the system of legal documents to suit reality and increase deterrence. The Department of Grassroots Culture (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) has issued an official letter requiring localities to proactively inspect, check and monitor before, during and after organising festivals, promptly preventing and strictly handling violations, especially the act of exploiting relic sites, festivals and beliefs for gain and superstitious practice.
On the part of the people, they need to stay clear-headed before pronouncements on social media. They should not follow blindly, especially when the person demands payment or material contributions. If they detect acts of exploiting spirituality for gain or fraud, people should report them to the police for timely handling.
Folk belief is an important part of the nation's cultural and spiritual life and needs to be preserved and promoted in the right way. Superstitious practice is the downside that needs to be rejected in order to protect the good values of belief and ensure order and social safety.
