Jindal, Louisiana's Catholic governor-elect, is convert from Hinduism

Published: 2007-10-23

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's Republican governor-elect, will be not only the nation's youngest governor when he is sworn into office in January, but he'll be the first Indian-American governor and the first who is a convert from Hinduism to Catholicism. Jindal, 36, is a U.S. congressman elected in 2004 to represent Louisiana's 1st District. Raised a Hindu by his Indian-born parents, he converted to Catholicism when he was a student at Brown University in Providence, R.I. Hinduism is different from most other religions because it is a collection of philosophies, Jindal said 10 years ago in an interview with The Catholic Commentator, Baton Rouge diocesan newspaper. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Jindal said the values and practices he and his brother were taught by their parents were not very different from what Christian children in their neighborhood were being taught. "We were raised to pray to God every night, to give thanks to God when good things happen and to seek help when things are bad," he said. "We learned to treat other people well and that God gives us opportunities and gifts which we need to share with others," he said.

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