The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Vietnam
This page contains a list of the greatest Vietnamese Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 Religious Figures, 5 of which were born in Vietnam. This makes Vietnam the birth place of the 57th most number of Religious Figures behind South Korea and Morocco.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Vietnamese Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Vietnamese Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926 - 2022)
With an HPI of 69.52, Thích Nhất Hạnh is the most famous Vietnamese Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.
Thích Nhất Hạnh ( TIK NAHT HAHN; Vietnamese: [tʰǐk̟ ɲə̌t hâjŋ̟ˀ] , Huế dialect: [tʰɨt̚˦˧˥ ɲək̚˦˧˥ hɛɲ˨˩ʔ]; born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo; 11 October 1926 – 22 January 2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher, who founded the Plum Village Tradition, historically recognized as the main inspiration for engaged Buddhism. Known as the "father of mindfulness", Nhất Hạnh was a major influence on Western practices of Buddhism. In the mid-1960s, Nhất Hạnh co-founded the School of Youth for Social Services and created the Order of Interbeing. He was exiled from South Vietnam in 1966 after expressing opposition to the war and refusing to take sides. In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Nhất Hạnh established dozens of monasteries and practice centers and spent many years living at the Plum Village Monastery, which he founded in 1982 in southwest France near Thénac, traveling internationally to give retreats and talks. Nhất Hạnh promoted deep listening as a nonviolent solution to conflict and sought to raise awareness of the interconnectedness of all elements in nature. He coined the term "engaged Buddhism" in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. After a 39-year exile, Nhất Hạnh was permitted to visit Vietnam in 2005. In 2018, he returned to Vietnam to his "root temple", Từ Hiếu Temple, near Huế, where he lived until his death in 2022, at the age of 95.
2. Andrew Dũng-Lạc (1795 - 1839)
With an HPI of 55.19, Andrew Dũng-Lạc is the 2nd most famous Vietnamese Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Andrew Trần Dũng-Lạc (Vietnamese: Anrê Trần An Dũng Lạc, Vietnamese pronunciation: [aːn˧re˧ tɕən˨˩ aːn˧ zuŋ˧˥ lak˧˨]), French: André Dũng-Lạc; c. 1795 – 21 December 1839) was a Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest. He was executed by beheading during the reign of Minh Mạng. He is a saint and martyr of the Catholic Church.
3. Nguyễn Văn Thuận (1928 - 2002)
With an HPI of 53.21, Nguyễn Văn Thuận is the 3rd most famous Vietnamese Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Phanxicô Xaviê Nguyễn Văn Thuận, also known as Francis-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận (pronounced [ŋʷjə̌ˀn van tʰwə̂ˀn] ; 17 April 1928 – 16 September 2002), was a Vietnamese cardinal in the Catholic Church. He was a nephew of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, and of Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục. Pope Francis named him as Venerable on 4 May 2017, a significant step on the road towards canonization.
4. Phạm Minh Mẫn (1934 - )
With an HPI of 46.03, Phạm Minh Mẫn is the 4th most famous Vietnamese Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn (Vietnamese: Gioan Baotixia Phạm Minh Mẫn) (born 5 March 1934) is a Vietnamese cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church and archbishop emeritus of Ho Chi Minh City.
5. Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn (1938 - )
With an HPI of 44.37, Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn is the 5th most famous Vietnamese Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn (Vietnamese: Phêrô Nguyễn Văn Nhơn; born 1 April 1938) is a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hanoi from May 2010 to November 2018. A cardinal since February 2015, he was Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Đà Lạt from 1994 to 2010, and the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam from 2007 to 2013.
Pantheon has 5 people classified as religious figures born between 1795 and 1938. Of these 5, 2 (40.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Phạm Minh Mẫn and Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn. The most famous deceased religious figures include Thích Nhất Hạnh, Andrew Dũng-Lạc, and Nguyễn Văn Thuận. As of April 2022, 1 new religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Andrew Dũng-Lạc.
Living Religious Figures
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Thích Nhất Hạnh
1926 - 2022
HPI: 69.52
Andrew Dũng-Lạc
1795 - 1839
HPI: 55.19
Nguyễn Văn Thuận
1928 - 2002
HPI: 53.21
Newly Added Religious Figures (2022)
Go to all RankingsWhich Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.
