Thích Quảng Đức
About 70 to 90 percent of people in South Vietnam were Buddhist. However, the country's president, Ngô Đình Diệm, was Catholic. He made many laws that made things easier for Catholics, such as being promoted in the military and getting land. Many officers in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam became Catholic so they could still be officers. When village militias in South Vietnam were given weapons, they were only given to Catholics. Some Buddhists in the army were not promoted unless they became Catholic.