The management of minority heritage: critical challenges to Vietnamese Catholic heritage seen from the case study of Bui Chu Cathedral

ABSTRACT

On 1 August 2020, wrecking balls began to demolish the Catholic cathedral in Bui Chu town, in the Vietnamese province of Nam Dinh, putting an end to more than a decade of lively debate over whether the 1885 cathedral building was to be preserved. The losing camp had favoured retaining the original structure and taking essential steps to enhance its integrity and safety; the prevailing camp argued to demolish the old church and replace it with a (larger) replica built with modern construction methods and materials. The present paper examines the positions and alignments among various actors, including church clergy, state officials at different levels, scholars of religion, heritage experts, journalists, and congregation members. These debates involved complex questions of the continuity and value of colonial heritage, the effectiveness of Vietnam’s legal system for protecting built heritage, and the sensitive historical relations between the state and Vietnam’s Catholic minority.

KEYWORDS:

• Bui Chu Cathedral
• Catholic heritage
• minority heritage
• stakeholder debates
• legal protections

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ky Nam Nguyen

Ky Nam Nguyen is lecturer in Heritage studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-Hanoi). He obtained his Master of Arts in Museums and Cultural Heritage from University of Auckland (New Zealand). He has written extensively about cultural heritage, cultural studies and urban heritage conservation.

Quang Anh Phan

Quang Anh Phan is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Zurich. He obtained his PhD in Communications and New Media from National University of Singapore (NUS), and his Master in Cultural and Critical Studies from University of Westminster, United Kingdom. His research interests include Media Studies, Game Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies with a particular focus on Vietnam. His publications could be found in Creative Industries Journal, International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, Asia Pacific Social Science Review, among others.