Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Vivek Ramaswamy's Hindu Faith Is Front and Center in His GOP Presidential Campaign
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
August 7, 2023

Share

Vivek Ramaswamy is as comfortable talking about Bible stories as he is sharing the message of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most sacred Hindu texts.

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate has been steadily garnering support in a party dominated by conservative Christians. In many polls, he’s in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and he is one of six candidates who have qualified for the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23.

He is also only the nation’s second Hindu presidential candidate. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman, ran as a Democrat in 2020.

Ramaswamy’s Core Beliefs and Political Stance

Ramaswamy shared 10 core beliefs as part of his campaign, with “God is real” topping the list followed by “There are two genders.” He cascaded into the limelight with his 2021 book “Woke Inc: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,” a scathing critique of corporations that he says use social justice causes as a smokescreen for self-interested policies.

He became a regular commentator on Fox News and other conservative outlets, backing capitalism and meritocracy, and criticizing affirmative action, mask mandates and open borders. He is anti-abortion and believes gender dysphoria should be treated as a mental illness. He has expressed support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose populist policies have been divisive.

Utilizing Faith in the Campaign Trail

On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy has leaned into his faith as he vies for the nomination of a party where evangelical Christian support is key. In speeches and casual conversations with these voters, he maintains that his religion has much in common with “the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded on.”

“I’m an ardent defender of religious liberty,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I will be an even more vocal and unapologetic defender of it precisely because no one is going to accuse me of being a Christian nationalist.”

While questions have been raised about his ability to appeal to conservative Christian voters, Ramaswamy said he has more in common with people of all faiths than those with no faith at all.

“I was raised in a belief system where there is one true God who empowers each of us with our own capacities,” he said. “As we say in the Hindu tradition, God resides in each one of us. In the Christian tradition, you say we’re all made in the image of God.”

Ramaswamy’s Religious Background and Influences

The child of immigrants from southern India, Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati speaking Tamil at home with his religious parents who performed pujas — a form of worship rituals. He heard stories from Hindu epics, offered daily prayers to deities and attended temples in Dayton and Cincinnati. He and his wife, Apoorva, a physician, plan to raise their two sons as Hindus.

Ramaswamy said he was also deeply influenced by Christians. He cemented his anti-abortion stance while attending St. Xavier Catholic High School in Cincinnati, and learned a strong “Protestant work ethic” from his piano teacher of 10 years.

“The lessons learned being Hindu were similar and in many ways overlapping with Judeo-Christian values like sacrifice, performing your duty without attachment to the results and believing that your work on this Earth is not being done by you, but through you,” he said, adding these Hindu values seem to resonate with Christian and Jewish audiences.

Criticism from Christian Audiences

Not all feedback from Christians has been favorable. Hank Kunneman, a pro-Trump pastor in Nebraska, attacked Ramaswamy’s faith during a recent sermon.

“What are we doing?” he asked his congregation. “You’re going to have some dude put his hand on something other than the Bible? You’re going to let him put all of his strange gods up in the White House?”

Ramaswamy dismissed Kunneman’s views as unrepresentative of most U.S. Christians.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

A Look Inside Israel’s ‘Fortress of Zion’ Command Beneath Tel Aviv

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Make DUI Arrest, Cite 135 Drivers in Distracted Driving Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Russia Says US Has Cancelled Next Round of Talks on Easing Tensions

DON'T MISS

Protester Killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ Rally Was Fashion Designer From ‘Project Runway’

DON'T MISS

Possum the Wanderer Finds Her Groove After Tumor Surgery

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Norman James Walker

DON'T MISS

JJ Spaun Turns a Free Fall into US Open Title at Rainy Oakmont

DON'T MISS

Fresno Vehicle Fire Spreads to Garage, No Injuries Reported

DON'T MISS

Iranians Flee Capital for Safety as Israeli Airstrikes Intensify

DON'T MISS

Marjorie Taylor Greene Opposes Trump’s Support for Israeli Strike on Iran

UP NEXT

Americans Don’t See Supreme Court as Politically Neutral, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

Military Parade Barrels Through Nation’s Capital With Tanks, Troops and 21-Gun Salute

UP NEXT

Authorities Still Searching for Suspect in Shooting of 2 Minnesota State Lawmakers

UP NEXT

Trump Curbs Immigration Enforcement at Farms, Meatpacking Plants, Hotels and Restaurants

UP NEXT

Fresno Protesters Rally Against Trump Administration on ‘No Kings Day’

UP NEXT

Protests, Parades and Pride: One Week in June 2025 Is Drawing Stark American Fault Lines

UP NEXT

Former State House Speaker, Husband Killed in Politically Targeted Shooting

UP NEXT

Does Merced County Need an Independent Commission to Draw Board of Supervisors Districts?

UP NEXT

Tensions Boil Between Arias and Dem Congressmembers

UP NEXT

US Senate Republicans Seek to Limit Judges’ Power via Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

Fresno Stabbing Leads to 7-Hour SWAT Standoff and Arrest

49 minutes ago

A Look Inside Israel’s ‘Fortress of Zion’ Command Beneath Tel Aviv

1 hour ago

Fresno Police Make DUI Arrest, Cite 135 Drivers in Distracted Driving Crackdown

1 hour ago

Russia Says US Has Cancelled Next Round of Talks on Easing Tensions

2 hours ago

Protester Killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ Rally Was Fashion Designer From ‘Project Runway’

2 hours ago

Possum the Wanderer Finds Her Groove After Tumor Surgery

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Norman James Walker

2 hours ago

JJ Spaun Turns a Free Fall into US Open Title at Rainy Oakmont

2 hours ago

Fresno Vehicle Fire Spreads to Garage, No Injuries Reported

2 hours ago

Iranians Flee Capital for Safety as Israeli Airstrikes Intensify

2 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Arrested in Madera County Following Shooting

Fresno police arrested a man suspected in a fatal shooting that occurred Thursday evening near Griffith Way and Hughes Avenue. Officers res...

19 seconds ago

Fresno police have arrested Scott Alvarado, 41, in the shooting death of Nicholas Bolanos, 33, on Friday, June 13, 2025. (Fresno PD)
20 seconds ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Arrested in Madera County Following Shooting

Trump Takes Questions about Pope Image
11 minutes ago

Millions of Americans Like Trump Better in Theory Than in Practice

Economist Jeffrey Sachs warns of potential US-Iran war in an interview with Tucker Carlson (pictured), citing decades of Israeli-influenced foreign policy in the Middle East. (Shutterstock)
36 minutes ago

Tucker Carlson Says Trump ‘Complicit’ in Israel’s Attack on Iran

49 minutes ago

Fresno Stabbing Leads to 7-Hour SWAT Standoff and Arrest

Officials inside the Israeli Army’s underground command bunker in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday, May 21, 2021. A former leader in Israel’s top commando unit acknowledged that the distance from the battlefield could create indifference to human lives. (Dan Balilty/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

A Look Inside Israel’s ‘Fortress of Zion’ Command Beneath Tel Aviv

1 hour ago

Fresno Police Make DUI Arrest, Cite 135 Drivers in Distracted Driving Crackdown

National flags of Russia and the U.S. fly at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia April 11, 2017. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Russia Says US Has Cancelled Next Round of Talks on Easing Tensions

2 hours ago

Protester Killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ Rally Was Fashion Designer From ‘Project Runway’

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend