Bobby Jindal declares war (again)

If anyone should understand the balance between personal faith and public respect for other religions, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal should. He is a self-proclaimed “Catholic Christian” who was raised by Hindus.

“I am blessed to know Baptists, Jews, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and so many more in the rich tapestry of American faiths. And I know men and women who acknowledge no denomination or creed, confess to uncertainty about the Divine, yet look to the richness of nature and the majesty of this world — and wonder, and inwardly seek, the Author of it all,” he said in a recent speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Jindal is also one of the GOP’s young shining stars. At age 42, he has been elected governor twice, served as president of the Republican Governors Association, and his name was tossed around for vice president before John McCain picked Sarah Palin in 2008. For Jindal, politics is a war. His recently formed non-profit organization was established to help conservatives “win the war of ideas.” And in last week’s speech at the Reagan Library, he took a stand in the “war on religious liberty” that he says is being waged by President Barack Obama. In true Jindal-fashion, he gives concrete examples to back up razor-sharp rhetoric.

For a shortened version of the speech, listen to The World and Everything in It.