As editor-publisher of the spiritual web magazine, ALotusInTheMud.com, I refrain from wading into controversial issues related to religion. I prefer to focus on curating positive content that people can generally benefit from. I make an exception this time, albeit with malice toward none.
Vice President J.D. Vance has publicly expressed a wish that his Hindu wife, Usha Vance, would convert. This has drawn a strong reaction from the Indian community in America. Today, the advocacy organization Hindu American Foundation (HAF), based in Washington, DC, issued a press statement denouncing Vance.
When asked about his interfaith marriage, the Vice President told college students at a Turning Point USA rally in the University of Mississippi on October 29 that he hopes the Second Lady is “somehow moved by the church” and will convert to Christianity “because I believe in the Christian gospel.”
HAF said, “… your statements re your wife’s religious heritage are reflective of a belief that there is only one true path to salvation — a concept that Hinduism simply doesn’t have — and that path is through Christ.”
Acceptance of multiplicity of valid paths to God is special to Hinduism
Indeed, acceptance of multiplicity of valid paths to God is special to Hinduism, as expressed in this Vedic saying: “Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahuda Vadanti” (There is one Truth, the wise ones speak about it variously).
Not only does Hinduism profess it, but it also practices it in reality – no proselytizing. Hindus chafe at the missionaries of other religions trying to convert them.
On Friday, October 31, Vice President Vance, a Roman Catholic convert, defending his earlier remark, did not manage to soothe Hindu nerves. “She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage — or any interfaith relationship — I hope she may one day see things as I do,” he wrote in a post on X responding to a now-deleted comment criticizing him for “throwing his wife’s religion under the bus, in public”. He continued, “Yes, Christians have beliefs. And yes, those beliefs have many consequences, one of which is that we want to share them with other people. That is a completely normal thing, and anyone who’s telling you otherwise has an agenda,”
One can imagine the pressure on J.D. Vance to have a Christian wife, as he will most likely be the frontrunner to become the President of the United States in 2028. The pressure it is exerting on the Second Lady, we do not know. Or whether she will convert, if necessary, to support her husband’s ambition. Nonetheless, Jen Psaki, former White House press secretary and now an MSNBC host, went on to say on a recent podcast that Usha Vance “needs rescuing,” implying a troubled marriage.
J.D. Vance has rejected these claims as “disgraceful,” arguing that Usha can speak for herself and that he is lucky to have a “wonderful wife” by his side. Usha Vance herself has not indicated any trouble in her marriage and has appeared with her husband on official trips and at public events, seemingly comfortable in her role as Second Lady.
Harking back to American core principle of religious freedom
Criticism of Vance’s remarks this week harks back to the concept of religious freedom, one of the core principles on which America was founded. HAF statement said addressing him, “You are the VP. It’s more than reasonable (and well within precedent) for a Christian public figure such as yourself to acknowledge the positive impact of Hinduism on Hindus and the rights of Hindus to practice.”
The Times of India, India’s national daily, carried this comment on X by Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a prominent donor to President Joe Biden’s election campaigns: “JD Vance must apologize publicly & reaffirm interfaith respect. As husbands, fathers, & leaders, we have a sacred duty to uplift, not undermine, those closest to us. America deserves better. Our strength is in diverse faiths & freedoms—not yielding to pressure that erodes them.”
Conversions is an inflammatory issue in India
Converting your spouse to your religion is an inflammatory issue in India. Right-wing Hindus have agitated over what they call “Love Jihad”, where Muslim men marry Hindu girls, who have to convert as per Islam (the wife does not have to convert if from the other two Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Christianity).
Missionary activities – particularly targeting the poor, downtrodden and tribals – by Christian and Muslim organizations are frowned upon, sometimes leading to attacks on them. Hindu organizations even turn to mass efforts to reconvert, calling it ‘Ghar Wapsi’ (Return Home).
Well, you may extend the idea of religious freedom to freedom to convert. Good point, as long as it does not extend to inducements and forcible conversion.
But why try to convert at all? Here is a spiritual viewpoint – as I understand spirituality. Religions with their rites and rituals are meant to safeguard the spiritual core (which is common to all humans, mystics have said). Like, for example, the shell of a coconut. Sadly, over time, what is within eviscerates, only the hard shell remains. Yet, people of almost every religion believe that their set of rites and rituals, dos and dont’s is the best (the breakaway groups/derivatives often insisting that theirs is an improved version of the original), and others must see the light and come over. If one shell is as good or fruitless as another, why bother converting or reconverting others, and creating bad blood, even endangering bloodshed?
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