Vivek Ramaswamy is as snug speaking about Bible tales as he's sharing the message of the Bhagavad Gita, probably the most sacred Hindu texts.

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate has been steadily garnering help in a celebration dominated by conservative Christians. In many polls, he’s in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and he's one among six candidates who've certified for the primary GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23.

He can be solely the nation’s second Hindu presidential candidate. Tulsi Gabbard, the previous Hawaii congresswoman, ran as a Democrat in 2020.

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

He grew to become an everyday commentator on Fox News and different conservative shops, backing capitalism and meritocracy, and criticizing affirmative motion, masks mandates and open borders. He is anti-abortion and believes gender dysphoria needs to be handled as a psychological sickness. He has expressed help for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose populist insurance policies have been divisive.

On the marketing campaign path, Ramaswamy has leaned into his religion as he vies for the nomination of a celebration the place evangelical Christian help is essential. In speeches and informal conversations with these voters, he maintains that his faith has a lot in frequent with “the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded on.”

PHOTOS: Vivek Ramaswamy's Hindu religion is entrance and middle in his GOP presidential marketing campaign

“I’m an ardent defender of religious liberty,” he stated 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 capacity to attraction to conservative Christian voters, Ramaswamy stated he has extra in frequent with individuals of all faiths than these with no religion in any respect.

“I was raised in a belief system where there is one true God who empowers each of us with our own capacities,” he stated. “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.”

The baby of immigrants from southern India, Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati talking Tamil at dwelling along with his spiritual mother and father who carried out pujas - a type of worship rituals. He heard tales from Hindu epics, provided every day prayers to deities and attended temples in Dayton and Cincinnati. He and his spouse, Apoorva, a doctor, plan to boost their two sons as Hindus.

Ramaswamy stated he was additionally deeply influenced by Christians. He cemented his anti-abortion stance whereas attending St. Xavier Catholic High School in Cincinnati, and discovered a powerful “Protestant work ethic” from his piano instructor 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 stated, including these Hindu values appear to resonate with Christian and Jewish audiences.

Not all suggestions from Christians has been favorable. Hank Kunneman, a pro-Trump pastor in Nebraska, attacked Ramaswamy’s religion throughout a latest sermon.

“What are we doing?” he requested 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.

“While my first reaction to such speech is one of frustration, the truth is I’m running to lead a nation…including those who disagree with me.”

His strategy is drawing help from influential Christian leaders, together with Bob Vander Plaats, who had a front-row seat for Ramaswamy’s latest marketing campaign go to to Iowa. He stated Ramswamy’s “common sense values and shared virtues” are the explanations he's being “very warmly received by audiences of faith.”

While Ramaswamy’s religion might not be supreme for some Christian voters, it comes down to creating the only option obtainable, stated Vander Plaats, president of a conservative group, The Family Leader.

“If we were to tailor-make a candidate, it would be someone who shares our faith,” he stated. “But, I’d much rather see him (as president) than Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom.”

Most Hindu Americans and Indian Americans, however, are inclined to vote Democratic and be progressive on social points like abortion, immigration and LGBTQ rights. They are divided over Ramaswamy’s candidacy; some are significantly irked by his eagerness to equate Hindu and Christian teachings.

“He is taking great care to show a certain aspect of Hinduism without talking about mysticism and polytheism, which are core aspects of the religion,” stated Karthick Ramakrishnan, founding father of AAPI Data and a public coverage professor on the University of California, Riverside.

Still, Ramaswamy is “feeding a certain need in the Republican party” and is getting consideration as a result of he's a novelty in ways in which Andrew Yang was for Democrats in 2020, Ramakrishnan stated. “He is among those candidates who may not have all those expected attributes or the experience … but through the power of their ideas, are able to get into the conversation.”

Ria Chakrabarty, coverage director of Hindus for Human Rights, stated she is worried by Ramaswamy’s try to “package Hinduism in the family values mold, talking about it as a monotheistic religion to appeal to the Abrahamic faiths.”

“From a Hindu perspective, every person has a fundamental right to make a choice about how they want to access health care,” she stated. “(Ramaswamy) saying unborn life is life, what does that mean policy-wise? It’s also worrying to see a Hindu feed into LGBTQ hate because Hinduism has a rich history when it comes to queerness.”

For different Hindu Americans who could disagree with Ramaswamy’s views, his candidacy nonetheless represents an essential shift in American politics.

“I don’t share his politics by a mile,” stated Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University. “But he is gutsy for not hiding his faith or converting to Christianity for political gain. This might not have been possible 10 years ago.”

Ramaswamy nonetheless has a steep hill to climb as a result of most Americans know little about Hinduism, Ganguly stated.

Suhag Shukla, government director of the Hindu American Foundation, stated that when Hindu Americans run for any workplace “it’s inspirational for kids to know they can be who they are and be proud of their heritage and values.”

Ramaswamy’s candidacy additionally displays the rising political range throughout the Hindu group, Shukla stated.

For Republican voters, Vander Plaats stated Ramaswamy’s continued success hinges on distinguishing himself from the GOP front-runners. He in contrast Ramaswamy to Queen Esther within the Bible who was chosen by God to save lots of the Jewish individuals from genocide:

“He needs to show us why this is his Esther moment.”

___

Associated Press faith protection receives help by way of the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely accountable for this content material.

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com