Mormon Jon Huntsman raising daughter in Hindu faith
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Unlike Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman is willing to talk about his faith.
GOP candidates for the presidency, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both Mormons. While Romney is unwilling to be engaged on the subject of his faith, Jon Huntsman speaks freely about faith and his spiritual life.
Jon Huntsman’s grandfather was an apostle in the Mormon church, his father is a lay leader in the church, and Huntsman himself was a Mormon missionary to Taiwan, which gave him the language skills that helped land his last job, as President Barack Obama’s ambassador to China.
Jon Huntsman says he is not “overly religious”
“I can’t say I’m overly religious,” Huntsman told Fortune magazine when he was still ambassador. “I get satisfaction from many different types of religions and philosophies.”
Salt Lake Tribune Washington correspondent Thomas Burr notes that Huntsman and his wife are raising their adopted Indian daughter in her native Hindu faith and that another Huntsman daughter was married in an Episcopal church. The Huntsman’s have seven children total with another daughter, Gracie Mei adopted from China.
“Jon Huntsman’s Mormon roots run deep,” said Burr, who has covered Huntsman since his days as Utah’s governor in the mid-2000s. “Personally, Huntsman says he considers himself a Mormon, but he’s also stressed that he gets inspiration from many faiths.”
It’s a contrast to the way the other Mormon candidate in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Burr said. “Those who know Huntsman and Romney would say that Romney is very active in his church, while Huntsman hasn’t been as active.”
Moreover, he told Newsweek magazine in December 2010 that the LDS Church doesn’t have a monopoly on his spiritual life. In an interview with Time magazine, he stated that he is more spiritual than religious and that his membership in the LDS Church is “tough to define”. Huntsman has said that he and his wife draw from an array of sources for inspiration, stating:
“I was raised a Mormon, Mary Kaye was raised Episcopalian, our kids have gone to Catholic school, I went to a Lutheran school growing up in Los Angeles. I have an adopted daughter from India who has a very distinct Hindu tradition, one that we would celebrate during Diwali. So you kind of bind all this together.”
Jon Huntsman should appeal to the more moderate, thinking conservatives, but will he?
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I am a Mormon who recently read the Bhagavad Gita. I greatly appreciate world religions and don’t see the reason why Jon Huntsman’s position should be so unique. Why can’t we all be so understanding?
Anyway – my thoughts on the Hindu scripture here:
http://thoughtsofasimplecitizen.blogspot.com/2010/12/bhagavad-gita.html
As an independent, thinker and voter it’s with great regret that Jon Huntsman will not be the Republican Candidate for President. I’ve listened to all the debates and find that he and only he has the qualities we need to bring us together. He’s proven it by the way he has led his life. The other candidates are selling a bill of goods to whoever will buy them. Mitt Romney is a salesman and will sell anyone the latest popular notion. He’s definitely not presidential material as far as I’m concerned nor are the other 2 politicians.
When will the Republican Party nominate a Patriot instead of a Politician.
Jon Huntsman has the potential to become one of the greatest President this country ever had. Hope he wins!
Jon Huntsman is a great soul,hopes he goes far in this election season.
roger
I believe Jon Huntsman will rise to the top.
He’s got my vote
[…] for his Mormon credentials given he doesn’t brand exclusively with Mormonism. Huntsman is quick to point out that his mother grew adult in an Episcopalian home, and his children attended a Catholic […]
I like Huntsman and believe he would make a good president.
[…] for his Mormon background since he doesn’t identify exclusively with Mormonism. Huntsman is quick to point out that his wife grew up in an Episcopalian home, and his children attended a Catholic school. He […]
Are there any moderate republicans left? …crickets chirping.
Better yet, how about an oxymoron…..a republican atheist?
Thanks, Holte. This is a great article. Both Hindus and Buddhists are inclusive of all spiritual paths, so I have respect for anyone who has their own belief, but does not ramrod it down everyone’s throat within a 500-mile radius.