what are some of vietnamese religious sects? anyone knows the histories of these two groups?

1. Cao Dai

2. Hoa Hao

anyone belongs to one of these two groups?

some of cao dai temples.

Any religion with element of Islam needs to be examined carefully.

History of Cao Dai

Cao Dai is a highly syncretic monotheistic religion that seeks to establish a basis upon which major world religions can be united. History is divided into three periods of revelation. The first period was around 2500 BCE, a time when God inspired the establishment of Judaism, Hinduism and early Chinese religion. The second period coincided with the emergence of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. These divinely inspired religions became corrupted because they came to be associated with their founders rather than recognised as truly universal religions. The third (present) period is one in which divine revelation occurs through inspired mediums. The message of Cao Dai is that all religions are in fact one even though they have different names.
Cao Dai venerates a host of different figures including Victor Hugo, Sun Yat Sen, and Trangh Trinh, a 16th century Vietnamese poet and philosopher. Its ethics are based in the belief in the reincarnation of the soul. Members of the sect are required to pray at least once a day, avoid violence to sentient creatures, to be honest, to avoid adultery, to be sober, and not to use bad language. Adhering to these rules will lead either to a beneficial rebirth or, ultimately, escape from the cycle of birth and death and rebirth in heaven. Failure to do so will lead to rebirth on another planet where life is harsher than on earth.
Cao Dai has its own hierarchy based on the Roman Catholic Church. Pope, bishops, cardinals and archbishops. Women are allowed to officiate at services.

History Cao Dai was founded by Ngo Van Chieu, an administrator working for the French in southern Viet Nam. In 1925 Ngo Van Chieu underwent a spiritual experience in which he believed himself to have encountered the divine being (Cao Dai). In 1926 an ecclesiastical hierarchy was established with Le Van Trung appointed as Giao tong (pope). During the following decade the movement the movement grew rapidly but also split into a number of subgroups.
Cao Dai has been staunchly anti-communist and worked for the establishment of a Viet Nam free from the influence of the capitalist west and communist east. The unification of Viet Nam by the Viet Cong in 1975 and the establishment of a communist-based government imepeded the work and growth of the sect. Cao Dai has, however, established itself outside of Viet Nam - in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The more recent liberalisation of Viet Nam has provided scope for renewed religious activity in that country.

Symbols The main symbol of Cao Dai is an eye over a globe. The eye symbolises the divine presence of God.

Adherents Cao Dai has about 7 to 8 million adherents in Viet Nam and 30,000 members in Australia, the United States and Europe.

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History of Hoa Hao

Hoa Hao (Chu Nom: 和好) is a Buddhist religious tradition founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider So to be a prophet, and Hoa Hao a continuation of a 19th century Buddhist ministry known as Buu Son Ky Huong ("Strange Perfume from Precious Mountains," referring to the That Son range on the Vietnam-Cambodia border). The founders of these traditions are regarded by Hoa Hao followers as living Buddhas —destined to save mankind from suffering and to protect the Vietnamese nation.

Hoa Hao claims approximately two million followers throughout Vietnam; in some provinces near its Delta birthplace, as many as 90 percent of the population practice this form of Buddhism. An important characteristic of this sect is its emphasis on peasant farmers, exemplified by the old slogan "Practicing Buddhism While Farming Your Land." Farm life is considered to be the most conducive to religious practice and self-improvement. Patriotism and willingness to defend the homeland are valued.

Hoa Hao also stresses the practice of Buddhism by lay people in the home, rather than focusing primarily on temple worship and ordination. Aid to the poor is favored over pagoda building or expensive rituals; religious and social ceremonies are ideally simple and modest, and are not to include the food offerings, divination services, and elaborate wedding and funeral customs found in some manifestations of Southeast Asian life. These are viewed as a waste of money which would be better spent helping the needy.

In the Hoa Hao home, a plain brown cloth serves as an altar, at which the family prays morning and night. Separate altars are used to honor ancestors and the sacred directions. Only fresh water, flowers, and incense are used in worship; no bells or gongs accompany prayers. A believer away from home at prayer times faces west (i.e., toward India) to pray to the Buddha. Adherents are expected to attend communal services on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month and on other Buddhist holy days.

Hoa Hao History
Huynh Phu So faced a great deal of trouble when he began to spread the ideas of his religion, a large part of which was Vietnamese nationalism, a dangerous idea in this time of French colonial rule. He was famously put in a lunatic asylum because of his preaching but supposedly converted his doctor to the Hoa Hao belief. As the popularity of Hoa Hao grew, Huynh Phu So made a series of prophecies about the political future of Vietnam. He said that the "true king" would return to lead Vietnam to freedom and prosperity, which caused most Hoa Hao to support the Nguyen pretender Marquis Cuong De, living abroad in Japan.

During World War II, the Hoa Hao supported the Japanese occupation, as did many other groups, and planned for Cuong De to become Emperor of Vietnam. However, this never happened and the Hoa Hao came into conflict with the Communists both because the Viet Minh were anti-Japanese and because of their Marxist opposition to all religion. During the State of Vietnam (48-55) they made arrangements with the Head of State Bao Dai, much like those made by the religion of Cao Dai and the gangster Binh Xuyen, which was control of their own affairs in return for their nominal support of the Bao Dai regime. In fact, the control of this government by France meant that most Hoa Hao opposed it.

When America began pushing for Ngo Dinh Diem to run South Vietnam the most powerful groups to concern them were the Cao Dai, Binh Xuyen and the Hoa Hao, which had formed a small private army under General Ba Cut. O.S.S. Colonel Edward Lansdale used bribery with CIA funds to split the Hoa Hao and in 1965 General Duong Van Minh crushed the Hoa Hao and had General Ba Cut beheaded in public. This was the end of the Hoa Hao as an armed group, some later joining the Viet Cong in opposition to the Diem regime. After the war, the Hoa Hao were allowed to remain, but like all religions, under strict Communist control.