Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy said Jesus Christ is not “the Son of God” and rejected the Christian belief that Jesus is the exclusive path to heaven in a video that resurfaced during Ohio’s gubernatorial campaign, drawing backlash from Christian pastors and commentators.

“Jesus Christ is a son of God,” Ramaswamy told an Iowa voter while campaigning for president in September 2023.

Ramaswamy explicitly acknowledged the distinction, saying his belief was “different than saying he’s the Son of God.”

When the voter raised the Christian teaching that salvation comes exclusively through Jesus, Ramaswamy described Jesus instead as “a path to heaven.”

The exchange occurred at a campaign stop in Nevada, Iowa, and was reported by NBC News on Sept. 13, 2023. Although some later coverage described the video as originating in 2024, NBC’s contemporaneous report establishes that the exchange took place in September 2023.

The clip resurfaced in the closing days of Ohio’s May Republican gubernatorial primary, spreading through conservative and Christian social media circles and renewing scrutiny of Ramaswamy’s religious beliefs.

Christian backlash followed

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported at the time that conservative Christians were among those criticizing Ramaswamy’s comments about Jesus, while other commenters defended his right to hold Hindu religious beliefs.

The criticism extended beyond social-media comments.

Mike Winger, an ordained Christian teacher who runs the BibleThinker ministry, devoted a May 1 program to Ramaswamy’s remarks under the title “Vivek’s Pagan Jesus Isn’t Jesus.” BibleThinker describes its mission as teaching Christian theology and defending a biblical worldview.

A day later, Cincinnati pastor Michael Clary published an essay titled “Vivek Ramaswamy Can’t Conserve What He Doesn’t Believe.”

Clary, the founding pastor of Christ the King Church in Cincinnati, argued that Ramaswamy’s Hindu theology does not merely disagree with Christianity but “absorbs” Jesus into a broader religious system and “demotes him to lesser status.”

Clary went further, accusing Ramaswamy of deliberately presenting his Hindu beliefs in language intended to make them more acceptable to conservative Christian voters.

Other Christian media similarly condemned the remarks. A May 2 essay published by Christian outlet Caldron Pool was headlined “No, Vivek — Jesus Is Not A Way to God.”

Ramaswamy’s statement conflicts with a foundational Christian creed

The dispute is not simply over wording.

The belief that Jesus is the unique, divine Son of God is a foundational doctrine across major branches of Christianity.

The Nicene Creed published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops identifies Jesus as the “Only Begotten Son of God,” “true God from true God” and “consubstantial with the Father.”

The Church of England describes the Nicene Creed as a summary of core Christian beliefs and likewise professes Jesus as “the only Son of God.”

The Orthodox Church in America similarly teaches that “there is but one eternal Son of God.”

Ramaswamy’s description of Jesus as “a son of God” rather than “the Son of God” therefore places his stated belief outside that central Nicene Christian doctrine.

His description of Jesus as “a path to heaven” also conflicts with Christian traditions that teach salvation through Christ alone.

The issue remains relevant in the Ohio governor’s race

Religion has repeatedly surfaced as Ramaswamy campaigns to lead a state where Christians remain the dominant religious group.

The Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study found that roughly two-thirds of Ohio adults identify with a Christian tradition. Evangelical Protestants alone account for 26% of Ohio adults, while Catholics represent 16%, mainline Protestants 16% and historically Black Protestants 4%. About 1% of Ohio adults identify as Hindu.

Ramaswamy has continued making appearances specifically aimed at Christian audiences since winning the Republican nomination.

On Aug. 17, he appeared before Christian leaders at the Ohio Faith & Freedom Forum in Middletown. Reason reported from the event that the forum centered on questions about Christian civic engagement and Ramaswamy’s candidacy as a Hindu.

His campaign is now promoting another explicitly Christian-focused event.

Ramaswamy’s official campaign calendar lists a Sept. 19 event in Cleveland titled “Christians, Bikers & Patriots.” The Summit County Republican Party advertises the gathering as an “ask-him-anything town hall” with Ramaswamy.

That continued outreach puts Ramaswamy before a constituency in which questions about his theology have followed him for years and became a renewed source of controversy during the Ohio primary.

And on one of Christianity’s most fundamental theological questions — who Jesus Christ is — Ramaswamy’s own answer was explicit: Jesus is “a son of God,” not “the Son of God,” and “a path to heaven,” rather than the only one.