Censorship at the intersection of academic freedom and freedom of thought, conscience and religion in Vietnam

Abstract

This policy brief focuses on censorship policies from Communist countries, with a particular focus on Vietnam, which affect academic freedom and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Shaped by a political framework rooted in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought, Vietnam’s expression environment remains one of the most tightly controlled in Southeast Asia. The country's one‑party state maintains extensive control over public discourse, academic sphere and inquiry, and religious life. It heavily censors university-related publications, especially related to sensitive religious issues. At the same time, online publications, diaspora distribution and independent publishers have sought to challenge state censorship, prompting a heavy crackdown from the government.

While the 2013 Constitution recognises everyone’s right to conduct scientific or technological research, or literary or artistic creation, freedom of expression and freedom of belief and religion, these rights are systematically restricted through a combination of legal instruments, ideological control and self-censorship. Using the art of ‘governmentality’, the Vietnam Communist Party has controlled academics, students and religious people through a diverse, often non-coercive set of techniques. It encourages people to self-regulate and adjust to its ideology. Academic institutions remain under its strict oversight, with curricula, research topics and publications subject to political vetting. Religious studies, history, political science and sociology are particularly censored when they intersect with sensitive topics such as history, freedom of thought, consciences or indigenous religious relations. Scholars, activists and religious leaders who challenge state narratives face harassment, dismissal, arrest or imprisonment.

By undertaking a human rights perspective, this policy brief addresses how censorship at the intersection of academic freedom and freedom of thought, conscience and religion is not merely a series of isolated violations, but a systemic pattern rooted in the state’s political architecture. The central theme of this paper is the politics of state-led vernacularisation processes, where the government normalises the idea that universities, academics and religious leaders need to be self-censored, and the government maintains the absolute authority to censor or ban any forms of research, books and even religious teachings. The brief calls for a shift toward a human rights-based governance framework for academic and religious regulation, grounded in international legal obligations and the nine principles articulated by the UN Working Group on Academic Freedom.