How Governor Bobby Jindal Left Hinduism Behind to Become a Catholic Christian

By Flicker photographer dsb nola (Flickr photo) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Flicker photographer dsb nola (Flickr photo) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Upon the passing of his grandfather, he began to question many things in his life, such as his religious beliefs.

Raised Hindu with his younger brother, Bobby Jindal’s current faith is well-known by the media and voters. In fact, he has made it a primary selling point in most of his political elections. He broadcast it upon announcing his presidential bid, and again when he condemned the decision from the Supreme Court over gay marriage. However, little is known about how he came to the Christian faith. Through his youth, he prayed to Hindu Gods and attended Pukas, which are Hindu worship ceremonies. However, upon the passing of his grandfather, he began to question so many things in his life. The story that follows is pieced together from interviews and the details he provided in Leadership and Crisis (2010).

How Jindal Made the Switch

It all began with the most simple question a person could ask another: “what do you want to do after school”. Jindal and Kathy Reznick, a girl he had always liked, spoke during a Math tournament. Her response made him realize that he was missing purpose in his life. They dated for some time, and during that time, Jindal would attend Catholic Mass with her family at Most Blessed Sacrament church in secret. His friend, Kent Shih, gave him a Bible, which he read under cover of night in the closet. According to Shih, he took to it in a very intellectual and factual way.

On The 700 Club Monday:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was raised Hindu but converted to what he calls an "evangelical Catholic". Hear him explain the three things that led to his long search for truth.

Posted by CBN News on Friday, August 1, 2014

When Shih invited him to His Name Is Life, a Christian Musical that Shih and other students were performing in. He wasn’t sure of it, but he went anyways. It changed his life, he says. It was precisely during the moment that the church projected scenes of the crucifixion from The Jesus Film that he realized what it all meant to him. It was that same night that he went to the stage with other students to be blessed. Still, he didn’t tell his parents. He feared the repercussions, and decided to wait. When he finally told them, having just totaled the Toyota Corolla his father owner, they were livid, questioning his motivation for it. Ultimately, however, they grudgingly accepted it.

He attended Brown University, where he was baptized Catholic. He chose to be baptized after an “exorcism” that he participated in. When he married his wife, Supriya, they held a Hindu prayer ceremony beforehand and were wed at the St. Joseph Cathedral.

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