Rain. Low 43F. SE winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..
Rain. Low 43F. SE winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Updated: November 9, 2025 @ 4:11 pm
Nancy Thompson
Nancy Thompson
Recently, J.D. Vance stated publicly that he wishes his wife Usha, who is Hindu, would convert to Christianity. When people questioned why he would say that, he replied: “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.”
I do have an agenda. My agenda is religious literacy.
Let’s start by considering Vance’s statement that “…beliefs have many consequences…” True. Beliefs have a variety of consequences for the people who hold them. For example, beliefs give some people solace; they give others a deep sense of shame and despair. However, history teaches us that there are also significant consequences when believers impose their views and will on nonbelievers. For example, consider the imposition of Christianity on Native Americans. Consequences included forced assimilation, including the coerced placement of Native children into boarding schools with the aim of destruction of cultural practices and language, and the criminalizing of Native spiritual rituals and practices.
Let me be clear: I am not claiming Christianity is the only culprit. For example, in Iran, Baha’is are oppressed by and subject to violence from Muslim officials. In Myanmar, Rohingya Muslims are oppressed by and subject to violence from Buddhists. In Tibet, Buddhists are oppressed by and subject to violence from the steadfastly atheist Chinese Communist Party.
That aside, the next point to consider in the vice-president’s statement is “..we want to share them with other people. That is a completely normal thing…” The first question to ask is “normal to what group?” For example, when have you been approached by Amish people wanting to share their Christian beliefs with you? When have you been approached by Hindus – Hare Krishna adherents aside – who wanted to share their faith with you? When have you been approached by a Jewish person – Chabad adherents notwithstanding – who wanted to share the good news of Judaism with you and who wanted you to convert to Judaism? On that last point, never, because Judaism discourages conversion to help ensure that those who join really, really want to be part of the Jewish identity and take part in Jewish practices to whatever extent: more stringent for Orthodox and often less so for Reform.
The third point to consider is why this was proclaimed to the news media at all. This is a family issue. It’s an issue between a husband and wife. It’s private; indeed, much of faith is private. Yet this was announced to national news. In the same way, the president recently announced the possibility of putting military boots on the ground in Nigeria to “defend” Christians there. In response, Pete Hegseth replied: “The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
We have to recognize that these media soundbites have power.
The not-so-subtle subtext: Hindus are lesser than Catholics. Muslims are terrorists and lesser than Christians. We have no evidence that the “horrible atrocities” in Nigeria are against Christians in particular or, indeed, how widespread they may be. Facts don’t matter. The message does: Christianity trumps all. Christianity is worth war. Nothing else measures up to Christianity.
We have about 1,700 years of history across the globe to show us the bloody consequences of this kind of political posturing, and that is exactly what it is. It is coalition building between state and one particular category of Christian believers.
This is just one reason why religious literacy is so important. As I said several months ago to local state senator Seth Bongartz, teaching about world religion is not teaching religion. It has nothing to do with indoctrinating students in any religion. Rather, making education about world religions part of the K-12 curriculum helps students learn about history and cultures, enables students make important connections and undertake bridge building, teaches students tolerance and empathy, sparks curiosity, and prepares students to function effectively in a diverse global community. Teaching about world religions should be part of the curriculum in our state, just as it is in many other states.
Nor is religious literacy just for K-12. It is one of the most powerful tools we all have right now to protect our democracy, which is under threat from domestic religious extremists. Consider joining the “Democracy Under Pressure” webinar on Wednesday, December 11, from noon to 1 p.m. You can find it on the ICJS website under Upcoming Events. Building religious literacy is a “good faith” action; in times of bad faith, our abilities to think, reason, know truth, and discern can save our state and quite possibly our neighbors.
Nancy Thompson teaches comparative religion for Community College of Vermont and has guest lectured on Chinese religion at Washington State University, Vancouver. She is author of “Touching the Elephant: Values the World’s Religions Share and How They Can Transform Us.” The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
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