Do ancestral houses need to register for practice of folk beliefs in Vietnam?

Do ancestral houses need to register for practice of folk beliefs in Vietnam?

Article 12 of the Law on Belief and Religion 2016 regulates registration of the practice of folk beliefs as follows:

1. Folk belief activities of a folk religious establishment shall be subject to registration, except ancestral houses.

2. The representative(s) or the management of a folk religious establishment shall be responsible for applying in writing to the People’s Committee of the commune where such establishment is located for registration in at least 30 days prior to the date that the establishment commences its folk belief activities, except for the circumstance defined in Article 14 herein.

The application shall specify the name of the folk religious establishment, folk belief activities, contents, scope, time and locations of such activities.

People’s Committee of the commune shall be responsible for reverting in writing in 15 days upon receiving the valid application. If such application is rejected, reason(s) shall be notified.

3. The representative(s) or the management of the folk religious establishment shall be responsible for applying for additional registration of the folk belief activities not indicated in the registered list pursuant to Section 2 of this Article in at least 20 days prior to the occurrence of such activities.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, the ancestral house is not subject to registration of practice of folk beliefs. Your family's Nguyen Huu ancestral house has the permission of the local government to build, so after the construction is complete, there is no need to register practice of folk beliefs for the ancestral house.

Are ancestral houses activities considered practice of folk beliefs in Vietnam? 

According to Article 2 of the Law on Belief and Religion 2016, the terms are explained as follows:

1. Folk belief represents the human’s faith manifested through rituals in connection with traditional custom to bring about individual and communal spiritual peace.

2. Practice of folk beliefs means the activities of worshiping ancestors and sacred symbols, of commemorating and honoring people with meritorious contributions to the country or a community; and folk rituals typical of historical, cultural, ethical and social values.

3. Folk belief festival is a congregational practice of belief(s) that proceeds with traditional rites to gratify a community’s spiritual aspirations.

4. Folk religious establishment is a place where a community practices folk beliefs, such as communal house, temple, shrine, ancestral house and similar establishments.

5. Religion represents the human's faith whose existence is accompanied by a system of notions and activities encompassing the objects of worship, tenets, religious law, rites and organization.

...

Therefore, according to the above regulations, ancestral house is considered a practice of folk beliefs because it has activities of worshiping ancestors and ancestral house is also considered a folk religious establishment in Vietnam.

Best Regards!