MOTHER GODDESS WORSHIP TODAY

Today, Mother Goddess worship is so ubiquitous that some Vietnamese people are surprised to meet someone who would not pray for their business, health, or wealth at a Mother Goddess temple or Buddhist pagoda. Often, Mother Goddess temples are even more crowded than Buddhist pagodas. This popularity is attributed to how direct Mother Goddess worship is. Worshippers can pray for anything they desire, from financial success to physical health to their children’s educational achievement. The decentralized nature of the religion encourages this flexibility and freedom by participants. In 2004, an official document passed through the National Assembly recognizing folk belief activities, including ancestor worship and devotion to spirits.

Some Vietnamese people immigrated to the United States during the subsidy period, bringing Mother Goddess worship with them. Once native Vietnamese were permitted to practice openly again, there was a cultural exchange of relics and practices, facilitated by the internet. Mother Goddess worship is shaped by personal experience rather than rigid doctrine, allowing it the flexibility to adapt to such different environments as rural Vietnam and urban Silicon Valley. Today, Mother Goddess worship is not only widely practiced in its native Vietnam, but it’s also been carried overseas with Vietnamese immigrants, widening the scope of the religion in new and exciting ways.