Not Running To Be Pastor: Vivek Ramaswamy Talks Vedanta At Turning Point Event

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India-West News Desk

BOZEMAN, MT — Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy turned an awkward moment into a lesson on faith and constitutional values during a Turning Point USA event in Montana this week.

When a young attendee at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse asked how Ramaswamy’s Hindu faith aligned with the Christian principles often associated with the conservative movement, the former presidential candidate welcomed the challenge. “Started as a very awkward moment when a young man questioned my faith,” Ramaswamy later wrote on X. “Ended with a beautiful moment of education and a celebration of our Constitution. Only in America.”

The exchange began when the audience member told the Ohio candidate, “You call yourself a Hindu but you also call yourself Christian.” Ramaswamy immediately corrected him: “I don’t call myself a Christian. I call myself a Hindu.”

Pressed on how his “polytheistic ideology” fit within a Christian organization, Ramaswamy countered with a question of his own: “What do you know about Hinduism?” When the man replied that Hinduism is polytheistic, Ramaswamy responded, “I actually believe there’s one true God—from the Vedanta tradition of Advaita philosophy.”

Drawing a parallel between the two faiths, he asked, “Do you believe in the Holy Trinity? And that doesn’t make you a polytheist, does it?”

Ramaswamy then reflected on the shared spiritual pursuit across religions. “Every religion has its reconciling of the One and the Many,” he said. “In my faith, there’s one true God who resides in all of us and appears in different forms.”

Calling himself an “ethical monotheist,” he reminded the audience, “I’m not running to be a pastor. I’m running to be governor of Ohio.”

To conclude, Ramaswamy invited the attendee on stage and handed him a copy of the U.S. Constitution. He asked him to read aloud from Article 6, Clause 3: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

“What matters more than our differences,” Ramaswamy said, “is our shared value set.”

The moment drew praise from across the aisle. Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democrat, reposted the clip on X, writing, “This was a powerful moment when Vivek Ramaswamy did not hide from his Hindu faith, engaged in dialogue with someone of deep Christian faith, and had him read Article 6 of the Constitution. Our nation needs more of this.”

Ramaswamy, who has long spoken openly about his Hindu upbringing, has faced repeated questions about his religion throughout his political career. As he often says, “My job isn’t to spread Christianity—it’s to make faith and patriotism cool again in this country.”