Historically, most Vietnamese have identified themselves with Buddhism, which originated in what is now southern Nepal around 530 B.C. as an offshoot of Hinduism.

Christianity enters Vietnam Christianity was introduced to Vietnam in the 16th century by missionaries from Europe’s main Catholic evangelist countries, France, Spain and Portugal. One of the early arrivals was Alexandre de Rhodes, a French Jesuit who greatly impressed the Trinh lords who ruled the north at that time, thus easing the way for permanent missions in Hanoi, Danang and Hoi An.

Confucianism’s originator, K’ung Fu Tzu (Latinised to Confucius), was an official in the Chinese court. During his lifetime (around 500 BC), China had broken into rival states fighting for supremacy.

The glue that binds the elements of the 'tam giao' - the triple religion

The Shaman A shaman is an intermediary between humankind and the spirit world, occupying a role similar to that of a priest: a religious specialist, possessing the ability to communicate with spirits, to appeal to them to dispel evil, to explain turns of fate, and to transmit the instructions of spirits. He or she usually has healing and magical powers, and can influence the spirits to bring about good and evil.