Reeni’s Journey to a Non-religious Expanded World View
Reeni was born in 1940 into a Lutheran family with deep European roots. Her mother was born in Finland, where education at the time was largely guided by the Lutheran Church. Her father, born in Ohio to Finnish immigrant parents, grew up in a community that, like many Finnish-American enclaves of the early 1900s, remained closely tied to Lutheran traditions.
By the time Reeni was born, her extended family had settled in Ashtabula, Ohio. There, several Lutheran congregations reflected a range of theological, emotional, and political perspectives. One in particular—Bethany Lutheran Church—was informally known as “the family church,” serving as both a religious center and a social hub. Reeni’s maternal grandmother was especially devout, and her mother remained active in church life. Her father, however, stood apart. He was not religious and, later in life, gravitated toward scientific and speculative thought, reading works such as The Ten Faces of the Universe by Fred Hoyle.
Reeni’s childhood involved frequent moves, often to places where Lutheran congregations were scarce. One early move followed her father’s career path. He had studied physics at the College of Wooster. (Though Wooster was a Presbyterian Institution, his family was pleased with his choice.) After graduating, he applied his knowledge to work connected with the Manhattan Project—the top-secret World War II effort led by the United States, with support from the United Kingdom and Canada, to develop the first nuclear weapons.
After this period, the family relocated to Buffalo, New York, where they attended a nearby Presbyterian church due to the absence of a Lutheran one. In 1950, they moved again, this time to Wilmington, Delaware, where her father worked for DuPont. There, they joined the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Reeni’s mother became active in women’s groups, while her father remained largely disengaged from religious life.
During her school years, Reeni participated in Presbyterian youth activities, including volunteer work that included hospital visits. At that stage, religion was more social than doctrinal. She maintained a lifelong friendship with someone she met in fifth grade—a friend she describes as deeply committed to Christianity. As teenagers, this friend persuaded Reeni and others to attend Word of Life camp in the Adirondack mountains at Schroon Lake, New York. Reeni went for a couple of summers, experiencing an evangelical Christian environment. While she found the experience socially and intellectually interesting (and enjoyed the local pizza), she felt little connection to its religious message and quietly chose not to continue.
Reeni later attended the College of Wooster, following a family tradition that included her father and brother, as well as her father’s high school principal who taught there after earning his PhD. Although the college had Presbyterian roots, her engagement with religion there was minimal. Instead, she gravitated toward academic and cultural pursuits, including participation in the Wooster-in-India program, where she developed an appreciation for Indian culture and cuisine. It was also during this time that she began a lifelong interest in art. Aside from singing in choral groups, she remained largely uninvolved in organized religion.
After graduating in 1962, Reeni earned a teaching certificate at the University of California, Berkeley. While there, she briefly explored Unitarianism at the invitation of friends. Berkeley also proved significant for another reason: it was where she met her future husband, John, an architecture student.
John was born to Jewish parents from Tehran, part of the Iranian Jewish diaspora that later formed communities in cities such as Beverly Hills and New York. Although his father was active in synagogue life, John himself was not religious. Educated in a secular environment in Iran and raised among friends of diverse backgrounds—Armenian Christians, Muslims, and others—he developed a largely nonreligious identity.
Reeni and John were married by a Lutheran minister—coincidentally the brother of actor Rock Hudson—in a ceremony that blended tradition with personal touches. The couple processed to “Finlandia,” honoring Irene’s heritage. When asked to kneel, the best man intervened, citing John’s “knee problems,” and that part of the ritual was waived. Despite John’s different background, Reeni’s parents raised no objections.
From 1969 to 1978, the couple lived in Iran intermittently, where Reeni taught at the British Iranian School. This period immersed her in a multicultural environment that further reinforced her broad, nonsectarian outlook. After returning to the United States, Reeni continued her education at the University of Delaware’s School of Public Policy and Administration. She went on to become the first director of the Delaware Commission for Women, working with nonprofit organizations to expand opportunities for women and encourage entry into nontraditional careers. Although religious organizations occasionally partnered in these efforts, her work was firmly grounded in public policy.
Alongside her professional life, Reenni continued to pursue art and photography, eventually producing award-winning work.
Religion remained largely absent from their married life. They occasionally participated in family gatherings, including Jewish holidays such as Passover, but neither felt a strong connection to religious practice. Christmas was celebrated in a cultural sense, while Easter was not observed. Their two children were exposed to religion in limited ways—including a brief period in Catholic school for educational reasons—but were not raised with strong religious commitments.
Their daughter spent part of her childhood in Iran. Returning to the States, she attended the College of Wooster, graduated as valedictorian, and went on to medical school. She completed advanced training at the University of California, Irvine, and became a psychiatrist. Their son also spent part of his childhood in Iran. He continued his education in Delaware, where he attended a private school near the Biden family. He later graduated from the University of California, Irvine, and now works in data management.
After John’s death, Reeni has devoted herself more fully to photography and art, which serve both as creative outlets and as a means of processing grief. She also remains engaged with current events, following global developments with interest and concern.
Reeni’s connection to religion has largely been what the poet Robert Frost called “the road not taken.” Rather than identifying with a particular belief system, she sees herself as a “hodgepodge” shaped by cultural, scientific, and philosophical influences. She resonates with her father’s perspective: the importance of understanding the world without being constrained by rigid systems of belief.
Often categorized among the religiously unaffiliated—sometimes referred to as “Nones”—Reeni fits comfortably within that description. Still, she remains attentive to the role of religion in public life. Drawing on her background in public administration, she strongly supports the separation of church and state and views efforts to merge religious identity with governance as troubling. To her, such tendencies echo earlier social conflicts, including the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.
With friends from a wide range of traditions—including Buddhism and Hinduism—Reeni values pluralism and resists exclusionary ideologies. Reflecting on her life, she recognizes that while religion shaped her early environment, it ultimately gave way to a broader, more expanded world view.