Fusion of faiths

[Photo/CFP]

While clergy are clad in colorful robes according to their primary theological gravitations — Buddhists wear yellow, for instance — rank-and-file believers appear in white. Bishops and cardinals are designated by pyramidal headpieces adorned with the Divine Eye.

Worshipers assemble in rows to sing Western-style hymns over traditional Vietnamese instrumentation.

Men kneel on the right and women on the left. Although Cao Dai proclaims the sexes equal, women can’t ascend to the two top tiers of the clergy because it would upset the balance of yin, which embodies the feminine, and yang, which is masculine.

[Photo/CFP]

The waves of worshipers flood a space that largely resembles a Catholic cathedral in layout, with two square towers, a rectangular nave, an altar, an apse and an ambulatory positioned as in most churches.

Still, the construction is crowned with a mosque-like dome and a pagoda, while the eaves crawl with dragons, lest the structure seem too basilican. Totally unlike the place of worship for any other major religion, a giant globe emblazoned with the Divine Eye occupies the altar in the temple.

Perhaps because of its uniqueness, adherents are said to have been persecuted from the time of communist victory until Cao Dai’s 1985 legalization.

Most outsiders consider the temple and the doctrine to which it’s dedicated a novel curiosity. But a visit enables non-believers to wonder at the global multiplicity of deities, the belief in which ultimately makes humans human.

Contact the writer at erik_nilsson@chinadaily.com.cn.