(RNS) — Vivek Ramaswamy, who got further than any other Hindu in his run for president and is a veteran of Charlie Kirk’s “Prove me wrong” campus colloquies, is no stranger to discussing religious beliefs. But earlier this month, Ramaswamy, challenged at a campus event to explain his faith, managed to displease Hindu Americans while confusing many others.
Ramaswamy, currently running for governor of Ohio, was appearing at a Montana State University forum sponsored by Kirk’s own Turning Point USA when an MSU student questioned Ramaswamy’s presence, given TPUSA’s Christian orientation and Ramaswamy’s “polytheistic” faith.
Objecting that he is a monotheist, Ramaswamy offered a relatable, yet somewhat controversial, look into his Hindu worldview, according to the video of the moment, which went viral. “Do you believe in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?” Ramaswamy asked the student, who agreed. “And that doesn’t make you a polytheist, does it?”
He continued: “Every religion has its reconciling of the one and the many. And so, in my faith, I believe there’s one true God, he resides in all of us, and he appears in different forms, but it’s one true God. I’m an ethical monotheist.”
The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy has long been open about his journey from agnostic child in a Hindu household to exploring the B …