Christian pastor Joel Webbon calls Hinduism ‘insanely demonic’ Alex Stein’s podcast: Read how both Americans are notorious for mocking Hinduism using lies

In recent years, there has been an alarming mainstreaming of Hinduphobia in the United States. Incidents of temple vandalism, online slurs, racist attacks on American Hindus, and Christian extremists openly mocking and vilifying Hinduism on podcasts have become a disgraceful ‘normal’. In a fresh attack on the Hindu faith, Christian pastor Joel Webbon called Hinduism an “insanely demonic” religion during his appearance on the podcast of Comedian and notorious Hinduphobe, Alex Stein. The clown-to-clown conversation took place in a segment of the episode ‘After Hours with Alex Stein’ podcast, which was aired on 8th April 2026. The discussion centred on the supposed demographic and cultural ‘changes’ in Texas, H1-B visas, Indian immigration, and Texas somehow turning into a “Little Mumbai”. During the conversation, pastor and founder of Right Response Ministries, Joel Webbon, resorted to vilifying Hinduism when Alex Stein pivoted to mocking the religion’s practices and asking Webbon to rank its “craziness” relative to other religions like Scientology. “Hindus “like to worship the cow, they drink the cow pee, they eat the cow poop.Is that one of the most demonic religions? How does Hindu rank on levels I guess craziness of religion. Is Hinduism crazier than Scientology?” Stein asked. Stein’s question, riddled with hatred and ignorance, received an equally hateful and ignorant answer from Joel Webbon. Webbon responded: “Oh… Scientology is pretty crazy. Yeah. No… Hinduism is insanely demonic because it’s not monotheistic. It’s literally millions of gods. And if you’ve ever watched—there have been videos that have gone viral of Hindu temples where they’re pouring blood-looking liquid on themselves or chopping off the head of a goat and then drinking the blood—so it is very pagan, very demonic, polytheistic. Hinduism is satanic in a lot of ways.” Explaining how Hinduism is demonic with @alexstein99 pic.twitter.com/SS5bnVSPGA— Joel Webbon (@JoelWebbon) April 8, 2026 The Christian pastor further proceeded to contrast Hinduism with Islam, saying that both “send you to hell” but Hinduism is “terribly pagan” and does not align with “western culture values.” Webbon’s diatribe triggered a backlash from the Hindu community on social media. Shridhar Vembu, the Chief Scientist at Zoho, called out Webbon for labelling Hinduism as some primitive and regressive faith, and wrote on X, “As a Hindu, I believe the entire Universe is the manifestation of the Divine. All of it – the river, the tree, the snake, the stone, the earthworm, the cow, the monkey, the elephant – all of it is divine manifestation. That belief is not Demonic, it is not Satanic, that is the path to living in harmony with nature and with other human beings. Arrogant, intolerant monotheism – see the video below – that goes around labelling reverence for all of nature as “demonic” and “satanic”- that belief is what makes men do evil.” Vembu further highlighted how Christians used to run crusades and invade nations in the name of ‘civilising’ them, and wrote, “History supplies ample evidence. Hindus did not run crusades. Hindus did not burn witches at the stake. Hindus did not invade nations and enslave people in the name of bringing “Civilization” and “God” to “pagans”.” As a Hindu, I believe the entire Universe is the manifestation of the Divine. All of it – the river, the tree, the snake, the stone, the earthworm, the cow, the monkey, the elephant – all of it is divine manifestation. That belief is not Demonic, it is not Satanic, that is the… https://t.co/jqRFSkKM4X— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) April 10, 2026 Similarly, Suhag Shukla, the Executive Director of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) also criticised Joel Webbon’s Hinduphobic remarks, and wrote, “Hindus are demonic! Oh the horror. They’re saying it with a straight face…so remember, this is the attitude that fueled & justified crusades around the world and the genocide of Native Americans—who like us “pagan” Hindus, see divinity in nature, in the feminine (and masculine), and in various forms.” Hindus are demonic! Oh the horrorThey’re saying it with a straight face…so remember, this is the attitude that fueled & justified crusades around the world and the genocide of Native Americans—who like us “pagan” Hindus, see divinity in nature, in the feminine (and… https://t.co/elPfZPwHAP— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) April 9, 2026 Joel Webbon and Alex Stein sounded like typical 15th or 17th-century entitled Christian fanatics who looked down upon those who did not share their faith and toiled for a self-imposed imperative of spreading Christianity in distant ‘pagan-dominated’ lands to ‘civilise’ the ‘heathens’. Webbon’s argument rests on the usual evangelical critique that conveniently labels Hinduism as extremely polytheistic and idolatrous, and its certain practices like animal sacrifice, cow worship, and use of diverse substances as offerings to deities. The Christian extremists use half-truths and twisted narratives to declare Hindu rituals as ‘pagan depravity’ and the religion downright “demonic” or “satanic”. Pastor Joel Webbon’s factually incorrect, hateful and oversimplified rhetoric comes from a strict Christian monotheistic framework. Hinduism, however, is too vast and diverse a faith to be comprehended from a singular or monotheistic lens. Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma does not fit at all in the Abrahamic concept of ‘demonic’ or ‘satanic’. Webbon’s claim that there are “millions of Gods” in Hinduism is also incorrect. Hindu gods are no demons, and there are no 330 million gods, as many Christian extremists mindlessly claim. Hinduism does venerate many Devas (deities); however, the religion is rooted in the Vedic wisdom that all deities are manifestations or aspects of that one ultimate reality, Brahma, also spelt Brahman (not the Brahmin caste). Despite there being a multiplicity, the core of the Hindu concept of God remains that there is only one God, one absolute truth and one unchanging reality, which the Hindu scriptures describe as “Hari Om Tat Sat”. The Rig Ved, the oldest Vedic text, explicitly states,  “इन्द्रं॑ मि॒त्रं वरु॑णम॒ग्निमा॑हु॒रथो॑ दि॒व्यः स सु॑प॒र्णो ग॒रुत्मा॑न् । एकं॒ सद्विप्रा॑ बहु॒धा व॑दन्त्य॒ग्निं य॒मं मा॑त॒रिश्वा॑नमाहुः ॥इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान् । एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ॥ (1.164.46) This hymn means: “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān. To what is One, sages give many a title.” Much before Jesus Christ supposedly walked this earth, Hindus had the Vedic wisdom guiding their daily lives and spiritual journey towards One God, Brahman, through Yajna, and other rituals. The Upanishads, particularly the Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, further reinforce the Vedic concept of there being only one God, who may have diverse names and manifestations. Later, the Shrimad Bhagavad-Gita reveals Lord Krishna, the avatar or human reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, as the Almighty, not without emphasising the divine unity. Take this shlok for example: yo yo yāṃ yāṃ tanuṃ bhaktaḥ śraddhayārcitumicchatitasya tasyācalāṃ śraddhāṃ tāmeva vidadhāmyaham This verse from Chapter 7 of the Gita means, “Whatever celestial form a devotee seeks to worship with faith, I steady the faith of such a devotee in that form.” While there is a more profound interpretation of this verse spoken by Lord Krishna, in simple terms, particularly in context of this discussion, it can be understood as: no matter which deity or God and in whichever manner you worship with true devotion, Lord Krishna makes your devotion in that believed form of God firm yet it is him who is ultimately accepting and giving the fruits of your prayers. Dvaita, Advaita Vedanta, Shakta tradition, Vaishnavs, Shaivas, and more such sects exist and thrive within the Hindu fold as one. There is nothing demonic about polytheism. In fact, a Christian extremist’s description of Hinduism as demonic is nothing but a theological polemic. Hinduism has no Satan figure and no concept of eternal damnation for infidels, heathens, or simply non-believers, in the Christian sense. Hinduism is the path of Moksha (liberation) from the cycle of birth and rebirth through knowledge, devotion and Dharma. From a Hindu religious perspective, Jesus Christ, if believed to be real, will not be labelled a non-believer or infidel, as the Vedas, the authoritative text of the Hindu faith, do not have any such theological category. One can either be an Ārya (noble) or an Anārya (ignoble) based on one’s conduct. Practices like animal sacrifice too are not mainstream but confined to specific traditions within the Hindu fold. These rituals are highly regulated and permitted to be performed only by specific learned practitioners and not by anyone. While Webbon did not detail what he meant by Hindus offering their deities “blood-looking liquid”, it can be assumed that he was most probably talking about Sindoor or Kumkum. There is no mainstream Hindu tradition of offering blood to Devi Devtas in Hinduism. Pastor Joel Webbon and comedian Alex Stein condescendingly claimed that Hindus eat cow dung and consume cow urine. Again, this is a misrepresentation of the relevance of cow worship in Hinduism. The cow is revered as a symbol of life, growth, and non-violence. The Panchagavya use exists for medicinal and ritual purposes in some contexts; however, it is not a daily practice or “eating cow poop” or “drinking cow pee”. This is more an hate-drive exaggeration that has been used to mock Hindus not only by the likes of Webbon and Stein, but also by Islamic terrorists. Pluralistic civilisations and polytheistic faiths are not ‘demonic’ by default, just because Hinduism don’t have a Christian equivalent to crusades, inquisitions, and forced and deceitful conversions, does not mean the world’s most ancient religion and its adherents are ‘insanely demonic’. Joel Webbon and Alex Stein: Two Christian fanatics notorious for mocking Hinduism Pastor Joel Webbon regularly slanders religions other than Christianity. In recent times, Webbon has faced backlash for demonstrating doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In October 2025, Joel Webbon made abusive remarks on X, targeting Hindu deities in response to a Diwali greeting post. The incident began when Kash Patel, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, extended Diwali wishes from his official X handle. In response, Webbon quote-tweeted Patel’s message with a derogatory comment, stating: “Go back home (to India) and worship your sand demons. Get out of my country.” The ‘sand demons’ jibe was directed at idols or murtis, which in Hinduism serve as tangible symbols through which devotees focus their devotion, perform rituals, and establish a spiritual connection with the divine. ‘Comedian’ Alex Stein has been even worse in his expression of blatant Hinduphobia. In February this year, Stein wore a traditional Kurta and a Tilak on his forehead as a caricatured Hindu persona at the Plano City Council. Stein peddled hatred and lies against Hindus and said, he was being “bullied for drinking and eating special stuff that in your culture is not very respected but in my culture it has lots of healing properties. “I worship cows, but cow is not animal, cow is divine mother, her milk is Amrit nectar from heaven her urine Gomutra is purest medicine straight from the gods, her dung Gobar is holy old blessing for health and prosperity. Please, mayor, I beg you, let me eat the cow dung. It has healing properties. Local media reports that Stein regularly uses municipal government meetings to further his Christian extremist and racist agenda. While America has had a long and opprobrious history of targeted attacks and vilification of Hindus, there has been a dramatic surge in such attacks ever since Donald Trump came to power in 2025. Beyond online hate campaigns and podcasts, Christian extremists are working at organisational levels to vilify Hindus. In November 2025, the New York State Council of Churches (NYCOC), through its Religious Nationalisms Project (TRNP) joined forces with the Islamist group, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), to hold anti-Hindu seminars. OpIndia reported earlier how White and Christian supremacists ignited the H1-B visas debate after Donald Trump nominated American-born Indian Sriram Krishnan as senior policy advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The online discussion soon snowballed into a full-fledged campaign against H1-B visas for highly-skilled Indians. This was followed by derision and insults directed at Hindus and Hinduism. The Christian supremacists have normalised slandering and mocking Hindu deities, labelling them ‘demonic’ and ‘false gods’. In September last year, Alexander Duncan, the Republican Senate candidate for Texas, called Lord Hanuman a ‘false god’ and objected to the construction of his statue in the US, saying that America is a ‘Christian’ nation, although by law, America is not a Christian nation. In July 2025, a video of a White American berating an Indian man with “Why are you in my country? I don’t like you guys here. There are too many of you guys here. Indians! You guys are flooding all the white countries. I am tired of it. Americans are sick of this sh**. I want you to go back to India…” In Irving, Texas, three masked men carrying “Don’t India My Texas” signs showed up in a suburb where thousands of Indian tech professionals reside in October 2025. Last year’s Diwali in America witnessed an unprecedented online hate against American Hindus and Hinduism. From vilifying FBI Director Kash Patel and US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard for wishingeveryone a happy Diwali, mocking the Trump administration for celebrating Diwali in the White House, attacking JD Vance’s Hindu wife Usha Chilukuri, and questioning Vivek Ramaswamy’s Hindu faith, to making absurd ‘Indians poaching wildlife in Canada and America’ claims, Indians and Hindus have been constantly targeted for their faith. Besides, White racists and Christian supremacists have been villainising Indian Americans to lend credence to their ‘White Replacement Theory’. In fact, ‘Nuke India’ calls by these Christian extremists have also become a new ‘cool’ among American racists and Hinduphobes. Unlike Islam and Christianity, Hinduism poses no proselytising threat. India, the natural homeland of Hindus, has never invaded a country with the intent to alter its religious demography or impose Hindu faith on non-Hindus. Muslims and Christians, however, have invaded lands and destroyed civilisations to establish their religious supremacy. From the orientalist caricatures in the 19th-20th century, fears of ‘eastern/Asian mysticism’ eroding Protestant ‘purity’ to anti-Hindu violence and online hate, American Hindus have faced constant attacks. The unchecked expression of Hinduphobia by the many Joel Webbons, Alex Steins, Alexander Duncans, Nick Fuentas, Elijah Schaffer and others might become the precursor of religion-based violence against Hindus in the coming times.