The Political Spirituality of Buddhist Volunteerism in Contemporary Vietnam

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of religion in global trends toward economic privatization by analyzing Buddhist volunteerism in Vietnam. Government officials in Vietnam propose that policy shifts toward privatization are part of a broader move toward “socialization” (xã hội hóa). Under socialization, the nation’s citizens have a responsibility to accumulate and use private wealth to support one another. Buddhist charities have subsequently become a popular means for citizens to channel private capital into non-state humanitarian aid and development programs. In this article, I trace how lay Buddhist charity organizers assert that socialization ultimately creates opportunities to advance Buddhist spiritual development. I use Michel Foucault’s concept of “political spirituality” to consider how volunteers employ practices of ethical citizenship encouraged by the state to cultivate a Buddhist moral “heart-mind” (tâm). My study thereby shows how local actors claim agency in national economic and political trends by overlaying their participation with religious significance.