catholicism

-Long term -Ideological -Political -Religious -Diem took action against Buddhists

In the case of Vietnam, Catholicism came into play with Ngo Dinh Diem. He believed, that like the French, the people of Vietnam should should be Catholic, a religious and ideological idea. This idea was around previous to Diem, thus a long-term cause. Diem practiced Catholicism publicly and violently, causing it to affect him politically. For example, he took multiple actions against Buddhists, including: not allowing them to fly their flags (due to a regulation prohibiting the display of non-government flags, even though Catholic flags were flown directly following this regulation with no punishment), banning their demonstrations, and ordering the arrests of any who engaged in civil disobedience. Diem's refusal to cease this discrimination helped in a movement against his government, and eventually even contributed to his death. This period of time from May 1963 to November 1963 when Diem was assassinated is called the "Buddhist Crisis."

In result of Diem's hatred towards Buddhists, monks went to extreme lengths to protest their beliefs. On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from the Linh-Mu Pagoda, lit himself on fire on the streets of Saigon, Vietnam. Apparently, Thich Quang Duc and at least two other monks arrived at the intersection, Thich Quang Duc got out of the car they traveled in, assumed the traditional lotus position and the said other monks helped him pour gasoline over himself. He ignited the gasoline by lighting a match and burned to death in a matter of minutes. And as a result of THIS, Vietnamese Buddhists then made the following requests to the Diem regime, asking it to: 1. Lift ban on flying the Buddhist flag. 2. Let Buddhists have the same rights as Catholics. 3. Not to detain Buddhists anymore. 4. Give Buddhist monks the right to practice/spread the relgion. 5. Pay compension to every single vicitim of violence's family and punish those responsible for that violence.