The 1963 Buddhist Crisis in South Vietnam: course of events and its nature. Part 2. The place of religion in the state building of the Republic of Vietnam

Abstract

The author analyzes the place of religion in the government program of nation building unfolded in the Republic of Vietnam. The author questions the popular interpretation of the RV as a state that exclusively favors Catholicism and oppresses other religions, especially Buddhism. It demonstrates the role played in Central Vietnam by one of the president's brothers, Ngo Dinh Kan, who later became one of the key figures in the Buddhist crisis and was striving to extinguish the conflict as much as possible.