This is a list of Hindu members of the United States Congress.
As of 2023[update], three practicing Hindus have been elected to Congress, the first being Tulsi Gabbard in 2013. In total, eight members of Congress have been either practicing Hindus or born into Hindu families but adhering to other religions.Two practicing Hindus serve in the United States House of Representatives.
Senate
editNo Hindu has ever served in the United States Senate. Kamala Harris (D) of California, a former senator who was elected Vice President in 2020, was raised by a Hindu mother but identifies as a Baptist.
House of Representatives
editIn addition to the Hindu representatives, four representatives, Bobby Jindal (R) of Louisiana, a former representative who converted to Christianity in high school and identifies as a Catholic, Ami Bera (D) of California, who identifies as a Unitarian Universalist, Pramila Jayapal (D) of Washington, whose religious affiliation is unknown, and Shri Thanedar (D) of Michigan, who identifies as a Protestant, all grew up in a Hindu household but no longer adhere.
| Representative | Party | District | Term | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Length of service (days) | ||||||
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|
Tulsi Gabbard | Democratic | HI-02 | January 3, 2013 | January 3, 2021 | 2,922 (8 years, 0 days) |
First practicing Hindu elected to Congress. Retired to run unsuccessfully for president of the United States.[1][2] | |
|
Ro Khanna | Democratic | CA-17 | January 3, 2017 | Incumbent | 2,873 (7 years, 317 days) |
One of the first two practicing Hindus of Indian descent to be elected to Congress.[3][4] | |
|
Raja Krishnamoorthi | Democratic | IL-08 | January 3, 2017 | Incumbent | 2,873 (7 years, 317 days) |
One of the first two practicing Hindus of Indian descent to be elected to Congress.[5][6] | |
See also
edit- List of Buddhist members of the United States Congress
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
- List of Mormon members of the United States Congress
- List of Muslim members of the United States Congress
- List of Quaker members of the United States Congress
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
References
edit- ^ Sacirbey, Omar (2 November 2012). "Hawaii Democrat poised to be elected first Hindu in Congress". Washington Post. Religion News Service. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ Kumar, Arvind (15 November 2012). "The first Hindu in US Congress". Indian Weekender. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ Graves-Fitzsimmons, Guthrie. "How Faith Fuels the Anti-War Stances of 3 U.S. Representatives". Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Ro Khanna Reflects on Gandhi's 150th Birthday". Congressman Ro Khanna. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ "Raja Krishnamoorthi heading to U.S. Congress". The Hindu. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ Bhattacharyya, Anirudh (29 August 2016). "Raja Krishnamoorthi: First-ever Hindu of Indian origin may make it to the US House of Representatives". firstpost.com. Retrieved 7 November 2016.