FBI Director Kash Patel Has Not Emphasized Religion in His Public Career

Outside of Donald Trump's inner orbit, Kash Patel is not a name that many people knew before he was nominated to be the next head of the FBI. Now that Patel is set to take over the organization, though, many want to know more about the man who will oversee one of the biggest law enforcement agencies in the country.

Among the things some people are curious about are Patel's religious beliefs. While many in the MAGA world are overtly Christian, Patel's background is in another religion. Here's what we know.

Kash Patel was raised by two Gujarati immigrant parents who emphasized their Hindu religion growing up. Since entering public life, though, Patel has not discussed his religious beliefs much, and has instead decided to focus on his loyalty to Trump, and on the creation of lists of people who would be investigated in a second Trump administration.

During his confirmation, though, he acknowledged his parents and his Hindu upbringing, and also referenced the chant "Jai Shree Krishna."

This chant is part of Hindu religious ceremony, as was his gesture of touching his parent's feet, which is a sign of respect in the Hindu religion.

These gestures are signals that Patel still very much leads a life grounded in Hinduism, even if it's not a part of his life that he's eager to discuss in public.

We don't know why Patel doesn't promote his religion more publicly, but there are several potential explanations.

One is simply that Patel doesn't feel the need to evangelize about his religion, and so keeps his beliefs private. It's also possible that he doesn't believe in Hinduism that fervently, and practices but has not made it central to his life.

It's also distinctly possible that Patel doesn't want to alienate himself from the vast majority of right-wing Americans, who are fervent adherents of an entirely different religion.

Although some were concerned about Patel's religious views, many democracy advocates pointed out that Patel has spoken publicly about developing an "enemies list" of people who wronged his boss Donald Trump in some way.

“I have no interest, no desire, and will not, if confirmed, go backward,” Patel said in his hearing. “There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no retributive actions taken … should I be confirmed as the FBI director.”

These words might have been reassuring to some, but there were plenty who think that Patel was only nominated because of his loyalty to Trump and that he might spend some time on his enemies list now that he has been confirmed.

Only time will tell whether Patel follows through on his confirmation hearing promise, or the enemies list one he made in 2023. The FBI Director is supposed to be a nonpartisan position that is only appointed every 10 years, but every director of the organization has been a Republican since its founding almost 100 years ago.