Vivek Ramaswamy was asked how the US could have a Hindu president. His reply

Vivek Ramaswamy is an Indian-origin Hindu

At a CNN town hall on Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was asked how amenable the US population would be to accepting a president who is not Christian. Every American president so far has been a Christian, at least by upbringing if not practicing the faith.

Ramaswamy, an Indian-origin Hindu, addressed the topic of his religion when an Iowa voter at the town hall asked him: “What do you say to those who say to you that you cannot be our president because your religion is not what our founding fathers based our country on?”

The Ohio-born entrepreneur and politician identified himself as a Hindu while responding to the question. Ramaswamy said he could have lied for political gain or faked a conversion, but did not want to do so.

A voter tonight in Iowa asked about my Hindu faith. I answered honestly. pic.twitter.com/hkUrZkbhUx

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 14, 2023

“I’ll tell you about my faith. I’m Hindu,” he continued. He added that he has studied at Christian institutes – “and I can tell you that we share the same value set in common.”

“I’ll tell you about my faith. My faith teaches me that God puts each of us here for a purpose, that we have a moral duty to realise that purpose. That God works through us in different ways, but we are still equal because God resides in each of us,” he elaborated.

Ramaswamy spoke further about the common aspects of Hinduism and Christianity.

“I had a very traditional upbringing. My parents taught me, families are foundation, marriages are sacred, divorce isn't an option you just prefer off a menu when things don't go your way, abstinence before marriage is a way to go, adultery is wrong. That the good things in life involves a sacrifice. Are those foreign values in this country?” he asked.

“I think those are the same Judeo-Christian values I learned at St. Xavier [his school],” Ramaswamy said.

“Would I be the best president to spread Christianity through this country, no I would not be the perfect choice for that,” he admitted, but added that he would still “stand for values that America was founded on.”