Until she debated Donald Trump this week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris had only done one interview since President Biden endorsed her on July 21 as his choice for the Democratic ticket. It’s been difficult to determine her positions on issues because she hasn’t done press conferences—and leading up to the debate she flip-flopped on several topics.
Maybe some people don’t care what a candidate’s positions are as long as they are affiliated with their party. But I want to know where a politician stands on issues such as crime, taxation, national security, inflation, education, and the health and welfare of our kids. I also want to know about a candidate’s religion—not because I’m expecting my president to be a pastor, but because I believe a candidate’s faith says a lot about their moral values.
So when I began searching for information about Harris’ faith, I discovered that other people have said much more about it than she has. Harris has tiptoed carefully through the minefield of public scrutiny of her religion. Her faith is, in fact, a mixture of many faiths—Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. Here’s what we know:
— Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India, and she introduced her Hindu faith to her daughter. In fact, Kamala’s name (which means “lotus”) is a reference to Sri-Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of good fortune. Shyamala met Martin Luther King Jr. once when she was a graduate student at Berkeley.
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— The vice president’s Jamaican father, Donald Harris, worked as a professor at Stanford University, and he considered himself a Baptist. When Kamala was a child, a neighbor took her to a Baptist church in Oakland, California. In her 2019 memoir, “These Truths We Hold,” Harris said her earliest memories of the teachings of the Bible “were of a loving God, a God who asked us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and to defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
— While living in San Francisco, California, Harris began to attend Third Street Baptist Church, a liberal American Baptist congregation pastored by civil rights leader Amos C. Brown. He is on the extreme side of liberal Protestantism. He testified against the ratification of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991, and he has been an outspoken advocate for gay marriage, the legalization of marijuana and reparations for Black Americans. Over the years, Brown’s far-Left views have triggered opposition from other Black clergy, especially because of his pro-LGBTQ+ stance.
— Brown said Harris called him the day President Biden endorsed her as his successor to the White House. She still refers to Brown as her pastor, even though she now lives on the East Coast. Brown told the Associated Press that Harris asked him to pray that she “would become the quintessential instrument to bring healing, hope and wholeness to the United States of America.”
— Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is a Reformed Jew who has spoken out against antisemitism. When he and Kamala moved into the vice presidential residence in Washington, D.C., in 2021, they nailed a Jewish mezuzah to their doorpost. They have also hosted Passover Seders in their home.
— Although Harris seems to have plenty of respect for various faith traditions, she has not always been tolerant of all of them, especially of conservative Christian views. For example, during congressional hearings she denounced the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization, as “an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men,” and she blasted the group for being against abortion and gay marriage.
— And while Harris has been strangely silent during this presidential race on many of her values, any American can find her comments and assemble the puzzle to see a clear picture of her worldview. Harris is for high taxes and big government, and in recent years she has been a vocal advocate for defunding police. She is also stanchly pro-abortion, and she voted against a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. (Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, also signed a bill in 2023 that allows abortion in the third trimester; Minnesota was also the first state to protect abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.)
— Harris has also promoted the transgender cause and even pushed the idea that the government should pay for illegal immigrants to have transgender surgeries. She has also supported government-funded “transgender care” for prisoners. When Harris was attorney general of California she declared: “I support policies ensuring that federal prisoners and detainees are able to obtain medically necessary care for gender transition, including surgical care, while incarcerated or detained.”
No one is shocked that Harris is on the far Left side of the political spectrum. But some Christians might be curious how the vice president can support extreme leftist positions while maintaining a “Baptist” faith. Don’t be deceived by religious labels. My Bible says faith is not authentic because of what you say, but rather because of what you do. I fear for the future if Harris is allowed to take the helm of our nation.
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J. Lee Grady is an author, award-winning journalist and ordained minister. He served as a news writer and magazine editor for many years before launching into full-time ministry.
Lee is the author of six books, including “10 Lies the Church Tells Women,” “10 Lies Men Believe” and “Fearless Daughters of the Bible.” His years at Charisma magazine also gave him a unique perspective of the Spirit-filled church and led him to write “The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale” and “Set My Heart on Fire,” which is a Bible study on the work of the Holy Spirit.