The World’s Most Intolerant and Least Inclusive Belief System

Insights From Cole Richards, VOM President, On Hinduism’s Impact in India

The following reflection is written by Cole Richards, President of The Voice of the Martyrs. In this insightful passage, he reflects on the dangers of Hinduism and how it affects our brothers and sisters in India

Hinduism is misunderstood in the United States. I am often asked how the same religion that is viewed as a source of positivity in our popular culture can produce such violent persecutors of Christians. The answer is that the seemingly peaceful and tolerant ideas that have been extracted from Hindu belief and popularized in the U.S. since the 1960s do not reflect the religion as practiced by approximately 1 billion people on the Indian subcontinent, the place of its origin and historic majority.

At Hinduism’s core is the caste system, which is easily among the most oppressive and restrictive social constructs ever devised. In the West, many admire the concept of karma as the belief that if one does good, one will receive good. And reincarnation is viewed as an attractive idea of unending life. But those concepts are foreign to Hinduism as practiced in India, where the caste system traps each individual at birth within a specific tier of society. Hindus are born as simultaneously oppressors of those in castes below them and as victims of those in castes above them — with no hope or means of changing their fate.

Many in the U.S. have the misperception that Hinduism is inclusive, but its tenets include the teaching that those not born into it are permanently excluded. And worse yet, many in India are considered to be born beneath the castes. These are the “Dalits” (from a Hindi word meaning downtrodden), who number around 200 million and are treated as so far beneath others that they are untouchable. It has given me great joy throughout the years to share many meals, handshakes and hugs with precious people whom Hinduism defines as “untouchables” but Jesus Christ our Lord defines as my brothers and sisters — eternally equal to me in every way.

I have found that Americans enamored with Hindu ideas do not understand the most significant aspect of the religion as practiced in South Asia — the continual striving and sacrifice to appease wrathful gods and goddesses. Within this belief system, purifying a village, state or nation of anything or anyone that is not Hindu is viewed as essential to eliminating suffering and ensuring prosperity. Those who have been governing India since 2014 fervently believe this and apply it to the rule of their nation. As a result, violence against Christians has increased year after year.

I have been accused of being a “culture wrecker” for proclaiming the gospel in India, and more recently, the criticism of Hinduism has even been labeled as “hate speech.” But we must obey God no matter what men may say, and it is an act of love to “wreck” false beliefs that hold people captive. I pray that we will love Hindus enough to join our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in boldly and joyfully paying any price to bring them the gospel.