Nikki Haley Downplays Sikh Background

David Brody has noticed a change  in how Nikki Haley's campaign materials talk about her religious background:

The fact that the Haley campaigned changed the wording on the website led The Brody File to do some digging. The Brody File has uncovered documents and details that show an emphasis on her Sikh faith and traditions in 2004 when she was running for the State Legislature (even though she became a Christian 7 years earlier).  Now that she’s running for Governor of the state, mentions of her Sikh faith are virtually non-existent. A legitimate question must be asked: After seeing how the faith issue hurt Mitt Romney and damaged Barack Obama to some extent as well, is Haley making a political decision by playing up her Christian faith (just like Obama did) and LOSING the Sikh emphasis?

Haley was born in South Carolina as “Nikki Randhawa, the daughter of Indian Punjabi immigrants and was raised with the Sikh faith. (Read more about Sikhism here) Her conversion story begins in 1997. (You can listen to her discuss that here.

In 2004, (seven years after becoming a Christian) she and her family were still attending Sikh Temples as well as their Methodist Church. In 2004, she was running for the State Legislature and she was quoted back then as saying, “I was born and raised with the Sikh faith, my husband and I were married in the Methodist Church, our children have been baptized in the Methodist Church, and currently we attend both.”

Her 2004 campaign played up her Sikh upbringing and faith saying that “Nikki was proudly raised with her Indian traditions” No mention that she’s a Christian.

As a matter of fact, newspapers at the time trumpeted the fact that Haley was “The First Member Of The Sikh Religion To Join A State Legislature In The United States.” One India newspaper wrote that, “She Did Not Hide The Fact That She Was Not A Christian And Regularly Attended Sikh Religious Services.” A project at Harvard University in 2006 refers to her as a, “Sikh woman.”

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