Communist authorities fear belief in Christianity undermines their absolute political and ideological control.
Communist authorities continue to claim control over thought and belief in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese government has embarked on a flurry of activity to intimidate and suppress independent worship. Both Protestants and Catholics have suffered. Because of the government's policy of secrecy surrounding its penal and detention systems, it is not known who and how many from Vietnam's Christian community are being punished for religious reasons at this time. An American Christian with the Assemblies of God church is being detained in Vietnam for distributing pens with Christian crosses and audio tapes of Bible passages. Bibles belonging to citizens and tourists alike are routinely confiscated in Vietnam.