My 'Hindu' faith led me to this presidential campaign: Vivek Ramaswamy

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy opened up about his ‘Hindu’ faith, emphasizing that it provides him with freedom and has motivated him to undertake this presidential campaign as a moral obligation.

Speaking at ‘The Family Leader’ forum organized by The Daily Signal platform on Saturday, the Indian-American entrepreneur drew parallels between the teachings of Hinduism and Christianity, expressing his intention to promote shared values for the benefit of the next generation.

Ramaswamy said, “May faith is what gives me my freedom. My faith is what led me to this presidential campaign…I am a Hindu. I believe there is one true God. I believe god put each of us here for a purpose. My faith teaches us that we have a duty, a moral duty to realise that purpose. Those are God’s instruments that work through us in different ways, but we are still equal because God resides in each of us. That’s the core of my faith”.

Speaking about his upbringing, he said that he was instilled with values surrounding family, marriage, and respect for parents.

“I grew up in a traditional household. My parents taught me family is the foundation. Respect your parents. Marriage is sacred. Abstinence before marriage is the way to go. Adultery is wrong. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Divorce is not just some preference you opt for…you get married before God and you make an oath to God and your family,” Ramaswamy said.

The Ohio-based bio-tech entrepreneur also drew parallels between Hindu and Christian faiths and said that these are the ‘shared values’ of God, and he will stand for those shared values.

“I went to Christian High School. What do we learn? We learnt the 10 commandments. We read the Bible. Scriptures class. God is real. There is one true God. Don’t take his name in vain. Respect your parents. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t commit adultery. What I learned at that time, is that these values are familiar to me. They don’t belong to Hindus. But, they don’t belong to Christians either. They belong to God actually. And I think these are the values that undergird this country,” Ramaswamy said.

He added, “Can I be a President who can promote Christianity across the country? I can’t…I don’t think that’s what we should want a US President to do either…but will I stand for those shared values? Will I promote them in the examples that we set for the next generations? You are damn right, I will! Because that’s my duty”.

The Republican leader further said that as a president it will be his responsibility to make faith, family, hard work, patriotism, and faith “cool” again in the US.

“One of the teachings is that we don’t choose who God chooses to work through. That’s not our choice, that belongs to God…so yes are founded on Judai-Christian values and these are values that I deeply share….as a president, it is my duty to make faith and family and hard work and patriotism, but faith includes, cool again in this country for the next generation.

Notably, 38-year-old Ramaswamy is a native of southwest Ohio. His mother was a geriatric psychiatrist and his father worked as an engineer at General Electric. His parents migrated to the US from Kerala.

Ramaswamy’s campaign has gained attention, and he has risen in GOP primary polls, although he still trails behind Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in support.

The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.