Having a Hindu chaplain recite the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate does not violate the principle of the Pledge, since Hindus share belief in God, expressed through the multiple gods and goddesses they believe to represent Brahman, the ultimate transcendent. Over one million Hindus live in America. As American citizens, they enjoy the same freedoms and privileges as Catholics, Presbyterians, Orthodox Jews, Sunni Muslims, and Mormons, to name but a few religious groups.

Those who object that such prayers violate the separation of church and state likely would also object when any other chaplain offers prayers at the Senate. For them, offering prayers in the chambers of our secular government is a category mistake.

Granted that the vast majority of Americans believe in God, we have only officially been “One Nation under God” since June 14, 1954, when President Eisenhower signed the law adding these words to the Pledge of Allegiance (which itself was written in 1892), so the notion of a nation of believers is relatively recent in our history. If we are going to give religion a place in public life, then it should not just be one religion. We are a nation of many religions. Just as the military employs chaplains from a variety of religions, so, too, representatives of these religions should have equal opportunities to offer public prayer.

Those Americans who say “give me that old time religion” simply need to recall that Hinduism—truly an old time religion—predates Judaism and Christianity.