Religious conversions have entirely different connotations for Hindus due to the coercive, including violent, nature of both Islamic and Christian proselytizing in the Indian subcontinent. In Western liberal societies, such as the US, however, religious conversions do not evoke the same response.
In Frame: Usha & J.D. Vance (Image: The Hill)
US Vice President J.D. Vance’s response (readers can watch the full exchange here) to questions about immigration in the US, his wife Usha Vance’s religious background, and raising kids in an interfaith family created quite a storm, both in the US and in India. Mr Vance was speaking at an event hosted by Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative organization founded by the late speaker and activist, at the University of Mississippi.
Before Mr Kirk was killed (September 10, 2025) by an assassin’s bullet on a US college campus, he gained prominence and notoriety by publishing a website called Professor Watchlist. This watchlist featured names of college professors who were alleged to “discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” Mr Kirk had realised that American youth on US campuses were turning away from faith, family, nationalism, capitalism, and falling prey to left-wing propaganda and mindless wokism that went against conservative values.
Later, Mr Kirk began visiting college campuses and engaging in dialogue with students, where anyone could approach an open microphone and pose questions to him. Mr Kirk would encourage students to ask questions on any contentious social, political, or cultural issues. Mr Kirk would then address those questions from a “conservative” Christian point of view.
Mr Kirk did not shy away from “tough” questions and always remained civil in his discourse. He is credited with bringing young voters into the GOP fold, which helped propel President Donald Trump to the White House for a rare non-consecutive second term in eight years.
After Mr Kirk’s murder, his widow, Erika Kirk, took the reins of the TPUSA to carry on Mr Kirk’s legacy. She hosted TPUSA events across US campuses, just as Mr Kirk did. Several MAGA influencers and prominent GOP leaders have participated in these events, where students posed questions to the speakers. Mr Vance was speaking at a similar event at the University of Mississippi.
The questions posed to Mr Vance were deeply personal and probing. For example, “how are you teaching your kids not to keep your religion ahead of their mother’s religion?” asked one student, delving into the intimate dynamics of their interfaith family life.
In the spirit of open dialogue, Mr Vance chose to address these questions rather than dismissing them as “personal.” It’s worth noting that Mr Vance has been remarkably transparent about his upbringing in a complex family environment, his spiritual journey, and his conversion to Christianity. Much of his journey is documented in his bestselling book, “Hillbilly Elegy”.
Mr Vance describes himself as an atheist until his embrace of Catholicism in his thirties. The Vances met at the college campus, and Mr Vance used the word “agnostic” to describe Mrs Vance’s religious orientation. Although Mrs Vance has acknowledged her Hindu upbringing, she has not spoken publicly about more profound spiritual matters.
Mrs Vance did, however, acknowledge in a June 2024 interview with Fox News that her parents’ Hindu faith is “one of the things that made them such good parents, that makes them really very good people.” About her husband’s spiritual journey towards Catholicism, she said that she “knew that J.D. [Vance] was searching for something. This [Catholicism] felt just right for him.”
We must not assume anything on behalf of Mrs Vance when her husband described her as “an atheist” or “agnostic.” She is an accomplished and intelligent woman in her own right. Being the Second Lady of the United States, Mrs Vance also has a powerful platform. When she speaks and when she chooses to remain silent, it must be taken to be her choice alone.
However, it is a fact that Hindu Sanatan Dharma is the most pluralistic and, to use an oft-used term, “tolerant” religion. With “Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti” (Truth is one; the wise call it by different names) as one of the foundational tenets of Hindu culture, Hindus not only tolerate but are overtly respectful of other religions. Most Hindus, in their desire to fit in, to be non-confrontational, and considerate of others, often claim to be “not so religious.” They may even claim to be “spiritual” but not “religious,” which comes from the desire to be elitist.
Returning to Mr Vance’s response, what created the storm was his statement that he wished Mrs Vance would follow his spiritual path one day. Here is exactly how that came about:
“Everybody has to come to their own arrangement here… The way that we’ve come to our arrangement is she’s my best friend. We talk to each other about this stuff. So, we’ve decided to raise our kids Christian. Most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church. Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, honestly, I do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way. But if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me,” he said. “That’s something you work out with your friends, with your family, with the person that you love. Again, the most one of the most important Christian principles is that you respect free will.”THE OUTRAGE
Many took umbrage at Mr Vance’s seemingly innocuous wish that he would want Mrs Vance to see herself as a Catholic someday.
But let us face it. Religious conversions have entirely different connotations for Hindus due to the coercive, including violent, nature of both Islamic and Christian proselytizing in the Indian subcontinent. The need to civilize and proselytize the “savage” Hindus arose from the urge of the proselytizers to show they were more enlightened than the Hindus. The negativity toward Hindus was the result of the etic colonial/Orientalist presentation (caste, cow, and curry) of India, and by default, its dominant religion, Hinduism, in both popular and academic discourse.
Unfortunately, the secular-leftist activists and academicians haven’t only furthered this narrative of savagery against Hindus. Still, they have also added modern dimensions, such as “Hindutva,” “Hindu nationalism,” “Brahminism,” and “Brahminical oppression,” etc., to add more fodder to the fire.
In Western liberal societies, such as the US, however, religious conversions do not evoke the same response due to the absence of historical and other factors present in the Indian context. Conversions, even intrareligious, say Lutheran to Catholics, and mixed religion marriages are relatively common in the US. Approximately 26% marriages, according to a 2025 Pew Research survey, in the US are now between people who say their spouse is from a different faith. Many Indian commentators often project their own historical and psychological experience when talking about religious conversions and ignore the absence of such aspects in the overall consciousness in the West in their commentary.
We should also keep in mind that when we speak positively about our faith, it is not always to put others down. Those who think in those terms lack self-confidence.
If religious conversion out of the Hindu fold, despite the near absence of coercion in the West, is a concern, the Hindu society must contemplate this question. Same with the question of raising kids as Hindus. People commented about Vance’s kids being raised as non-Hindus. The sad part of this commentary is that both in India and in the US, Hindu parents lose far more kids to conversion into the woke secular religion than any other. THE PATH AHEAD
While talking of conversion, Hindus are faced with a paradox. The received wisdom suggests that Hindus believe their religion is non-proselytizing. But they also proudly proclaim the spread of Hinduism in faraway places, such as Southeast Asia. This aspect of Hinduism warrants further in-depth study, so that those seeking spiritual answers can easily find them within the Hindu tradition. After all, our strategy for the protection and promotion of Hindu dharma must include a Shastric response that factors in a healthy dose of Desh, Kala, and Shatru-bodh—an awareness of time, place, and the enemy.
