American Catholic writer and priest mocks Hindu deities under the guise of H-1B visa policy debate
United States 
26 December, 2024
Case Summary
The recent debate over the H-1B visas, which permit highly skilled foreign professionals to work in the United States, has catapulted into a full-fledged attack on the Hindu community and their natural homeland—India - viewed as a Hindu collectivity. It all started after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that Indian-American Sriram Krishnan would serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Initiated by Laura Loomer, a notorious conspiracy theorist who called Krishnan’s appointment ‘disappointing’ and made an offensive generalisation that Indians are ‘third-world invaders’, the tirade against Indian immigrants snowballed into a full-fledged racial, ethnic and religiously-motivated online attack against Hindus. Amid the backlash, a famous American Catholic writer and Youtuber @TaylorRMarshall mocked Hindu deities, cloaking the remarks under the "America first" rhetoric. Notably, Taylor Reed Marshall is a former Episcopal Church priest. He authorises multiple books, including Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within and his bestselling historical fiction series Sword and Serpent. Marshall currently teaches at the New Saint Thomas Institute, an online Catholic education institute that he founded in 2013 with students from over 70 nations. Taylor Reed Marshall, who believes that Yoga is ‘demonic’ shared images of Maa Kali and Lord Ganesh and wrote, “How are you a “high IQ engineer from India when these are your “gods”? You worship cringe superheroes and supervillains from an anciently scripted Marvel movie and call it a religion. This selective derision of Hinduism reflects the particular animus these people have for the polytheist, idol-worshipping Hindus and has hardly anything to do with genuine policy debate on H-1B visas.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This incident has been added to the database under the prime category of- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This incident constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime and is a stark example of American Hinduphobia. Hinduism regards its deities with profound reverence, considering them sacred. Acts of deliberate idol denigration, as demonstrated in this case, are seen as deeply offensive and sacrilegious. The mockery of revered Hindu deities by @TaylorRMarshall not only denigrates the religious sentiments of Hindus but also reflects a deep-seated animus towards their polytheistic beliefs and cultural identity. Such actions often stem from entrenched animosity and an intent to insult the faith. Such attacks on the religious sentiments of Hindus, coupled with hate directed at India viewed as a Hindu collectivity, exemplify targeted animosity and warrant their inclusion in the tracker. It is important to add here that Taylor Reed Marshall is a Christian priest and tutor at a Catholic institution with students from over 70 countries, as well as a prominent YouTube commentator. His expressions of religious supremacy and disdain for Hinduism are deeply concerning. Such attitudes not only set a harmful precedent but also risk influencing young, impressionable minds against Hinduism. Given his position of influence and authority, his actions underscore the potential for perpetuating bias and fostering animosity toward Hindus and their faith.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
