New Congress religiously diverse, less Protestant

Three Buddhists, a Hindu and a “none” will walk into the 113th Congress, and it’s no joke. Rather, it’s a series of firsts that reflect the growing religious diversity of the country.

When the new Congress is sworn in next month, Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran, will represent the state’s Second Congressional District and become the first Hindu in either chamber on Capitol Hill.

The 31-year-old Gabbard was born in American Samoa to a Catholic father and a Hindu mother and moved to Hawaii as a child. She follows the Vaishnava branch of Hinduism, which venerates the deity Lord Vishnu and his primary incarnations.