Haley Under Fire for Religion

More trouble for Nikki Haley: After overcoming adultery allegations to advance to South Carolina’s GOP gubernatorial runoff, Haley, a child of Indian Sikh immigrants, is now being targeted for her religion. Detractors, including a state lawmaker, a local politician and two local pastors, have launched a campaign in which they challenge Haley, who states she converted to Methodism at the age of 24, for hiding her true faith. Their ammunition? The fact that she and her husband Michael partook in a Sikh wedding ceremony—a fact they assert she's hidden—alongside their Methodist nuptials. They also point out that Haley still attends Sikh religious services a few times a year with her family, and note that a reference to "God Almighty" on Haley's website was changed to "Christ" in a supposed effort to convince voters she's truly Christian. On CNN, Pastor Ray Popham of Oasis Church International said "I think she needs to be straight up with people, if she is both. If she believes that you can be both, then she should say that up front." State Sen. Jake Knotts—who infamously referred to Haley and President Obama as "ragheads"—went even further, and asked on local television, "Have you ever asked her if she believes in Jesus Christ as her lord and savior and that he died on the cross for her sins? Have you ever asked her that?"