INTRODUCTION In the heat of the 2016 presidential elections of the USA, one presidential candidate is taking the country, and the world, by storm - Donald Trump. His rise to power according to the New York Times [1], is a sign that religion is losing its foothold in politics. Trump’s numerous occurrences of morally questionable behavior made it clear that he is the least religious candidate, and when a country possessing such a large global influence as the USA elects a non-religious leader, more nations around the world are sure to follow suit. Elsewhere in the Middle East, multiple nations are now divided due to disagreements between the two branches (Sunni and Shia) of the major religion Islam, and a dominant extremist force, ISIS, is ravaging …show more content…
This is something that, if done with enough vigor, determination and repetition, can change the face of politics in the long run. 2. A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE 2.1. The old Vietnamese monarchy and its moral roots Something that some may observe about faiths across the globe is that unlike Western faiths which are generally more materialistic and based on physical events, East Asian faiths like Buddhism focus more on one’s way and philosophy of life, in other words, believing that there is divinity in each soul instead of believing in an external supernatural and divine force [7], which creates a perhaps much more peaceful, non-conflict-sensitive belief system centered on the spiritual self. While not the birthplace of such faiths, my home country Vietnam, mainly due to the thousand-year Chinese domination, has also adopted similar beliefs, evident through the many stories and moral values of its past dynasties that are still taught to Vietnamese people and encompass moral standards