JD Vance
J.D. Vance is a practicing Roman Catholic, having officially converted and been baptized into the faith in August 2019. His religious journey is a central part of his public identity, often described as a "meandering journey" from a loosely evangelical upbringing to atheism and finally to Catholicism. Vance's relationship with Christianity has evolved through several distinct phases. He was raised in a "loosely evangelical" environment in Appalachia. His grandmother, "Mamaw," who had a major influence on him, held a "deeply personal but de-institutionalized" faith. As an adolescent, he reconnected with his father and briefly became a devoted member of a large Pentecostal church in Ohio. During his time in the Marines and at university (The Ohio State University and Yale Law School), Vance identified as an atheist, a shift he partially attributes to a desire for social acceptance among secular elites. His interest in faith was rekindled through intellectual exploration of writers like St. Augustine (his patron saint) and G.K. Chesterton. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati. Vance is set to release a new memoir titled Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith on June 16, 2026. The book is described as a spiritual exploration of his journey from atheism back to Christianity and how his faith currently informs his public life and political vision. His wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, was raised in a Hindu household and is not Christian. Vance has stated that Usha encouraged him to re-engage with his faith. While he has expressed a personal hope that she might one day convert, he emphasizes that he loves and supports her regardless and respects her free will. The couple is raising their three children in the Catholic Church, though they also respect Hindu traditions within their household. He has explicitly stated that his views on public policy—including his focus on family-oriented policies and economic populism—are aligned with Catholic Social Teaching (CST). He has described Christianity as "America's creed" and argued that the country's moral backbone is rooted in Christian belief. Some observers link him to "Catholic integralism," a movement that seeks greater Christian influence over public institutions, though Vance has not officially adopted that specific label
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JD Vance: Satan wants Christians to separate faith from politics Vice President JD Vance says the devil has a favorite trick: convincing Christians that faith and politics belong in separate rooms. In a wide-ranging new interview with Bishop Robert Barron of the Minnesota-based Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester for an episode of his eponymously named podcast, held at the vice president's residence, Vance called for "a more fully Christian politics," one that refuses to treat "economic growth" as an idol, or to dismiss Catholic social teaching as merely "spiritual stuff" with no input on how a nation should be run. The discussion, which was tied to the release of Vance's new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, explores his 2019 conversion to Catholicism. (Christian Post 7.20.26)READMORE>>>>>> In Trump’s America, two very different views of Christianity in politics emerge A report released Friday by the Religious Liberty Commission empaneled by President Donald Trump suggests effectively tearing down the wall between church and state in the United States by providing more public money to religious organizations, giving churches a more direct role in politics. But argument from Trump officials that the US as a “Christian nation” is at odds with the views of the values of Christians on the left, who think government should do more to help people who need it. Two new books – Vice President JD Vance’s midlife Catholic conversion story, “Communion,” and Senator (and Reverend) Raphael Warnock’s “The Crooked Places Made Straight” – preach these opposing views of faith-based politics.(CNN 6.27.26)READMORE>>>>>> JD Vance reveals what drew him back to God after seeing Christians had life ‘figured out’ Vice President JD Vance said years spent chasing academic, professional and financial success ultimately left him searching for something deeper, leading him back to Christianity and eventually to the Catholic faith he practices today."I was really worried about where I went to school and what kind of job I had and what kind of money that I made. But I felt like that wasn't making me a good person, whereas the Christians in my life seem to have it figured out," Vance told Fox News Digital in an interview as his new memoir, "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," hit bookshelves. Whether they were rich or poor, whatever their background or education was. They were just much better people; they were much more gracious and much more kind."(Fox News 6.20.26)READMORE>>>>>> Will Democrats become the party of faith? While conservative Catholics have had their own tensions with the last two popes, seeing the president of the United States lobbing juvenile insults at the pontiff was a bridge too far for many of them. And recent Catholic convert Vice President JD Vance’s attempts to lecture the pope on theology seemed to come off even worse. (Public Notice 6.12.26)READMORE>>>>>> JD Vance condemns 'disgusting' religious violence as 'one of the most anti-Christian things' Vice President JD Vance denounced religious violence as fundamentally opposed to the ideals of Christianity and the United States during a Tuesday press briefing at the White House, a day after a deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque. "The principle is religious violence is particularly disgusting, especially in the United States of America," Vance said. "As a devout Christian, I would say it's one of the most anti-Christian things and anti-American things that you could do. (Christian Posts 5.19.26)READMORE>>>>> The evangelical primary has already started. Rubio has the early edge on Vance. The evangelicals who helped elect Donald Trump president are already sizing up his successor. So far, many of them believe that Marco Rubio has the edge.Prominent evangelicals see the secretary of State as a figure who can win over both Trump’s MAGA party of today and the Reagan-era conservatives who once ran Washington. But they note that their rank-and-file voters remain genuinely open to Vice President JD Vance, particularly younger Americans who are curious about what a more populist social conservatism might look like under Vance’s stewardship. (Politico 5.19.26)READMORE>>>>> Reading scripture with Augustine Interestingly, one of the most helpful people in our historical quiver is St. Augustine—the very same bishop that Vice President Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson are fond of quoting. Early in the administration, Vance claimed that Augustine teaches us to order our loves with the foundation of family first, neighbor next, and immigrant last. Augustine taught no such thing, as the pope clarified. More recently Augustine’s just war theory has been invoked to legitimate a campaign that the administration hesitates to call a war, and that by no evaluation against the criteria of the theory could possibly be said to be just. Augustine gets a bad rap in my neck of the Christian woods too. He’s dismissed as one of those old church fathers, presumed to be White—despite the fact that he was a North African with Berber Indigenous roots on his mother’s side, one whose first language was Punic. Justo González charts this history well in The Mestizo Augustine. And add to your Augustine reading list Catherine Conybeare’s beautiful new Augustine the African. (Christian Century 5.15.26)READMORE>>>>> JD Vance Brags About Dating in His Book About Catholicism In his upcoming book about his conversion to Catholicism, Vice President JD Vance dishes about his dating life before meeting his “soulmate.” Vance, 41, shared an excerpt of his book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, with USA Today for Mother’s Day on Sunday, announcing the exclusive on social media. “This is a particularly special mother’s day in the Vance clan, as Usha is about to become a mom for the fourth time,” the vice president wrote (Daily Beast 5.10.26)READMORE>>>>> |
April 7, 2026: The Hill reported: But the question to Christian nationalists should be this: Which Christianity do you want to endorse? Which Bible do we teach? The Catholic one or the Protestant one? Is Christianity the Catholic faith of Vice President JD Vance, which tells us to pray to Mother Mary and venerate the saints? Is Christianity the Protestant faith of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) which tells us that a personal relationship with God is all we need for salvation? What do we teach children about denominations? Which one is right? Why are the others wrong?
April 15, 2026: The Hill reported: Vice President Vance thanked Pope Leo XIV on Saturday after the pontiff sought to downplay a days-long clash with President Trump and said he didn’t want to engage in a public debate with the president. The pope said earlier on Saturday that some of the coverage of his comments throughout his papal visit to Africa portrayed a “certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects.”He referred to a speech he delivered in Cameroon in which he criticized those who “manipulate religion” for political and military gain, saying it was “prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and the message of peace that I am promoting.”
April 15, 2026: The Hill reported: Senior Trump administration officials escalated criticism of the Vatican on Tuesday, with Vice President Vance warning Pope Leo XIV to “be careful” when speaking about theology and White House border czar Tom Homan telling him to “leave politics alone.” Vance, a Catholic, issued the warning during a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Ga., while addressing the pope’s opposition to the conflict with Iran and his recent comment that Jesus’s followers are “never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.” |
Opinion: Donald Trump, Roman Catholics and white evangelicals
I offer these anecdotes not as a gratuitous jaunt down memory lane but to provide perspective on the war of words between Donald Trump and Leo XIV. After the pontiff questioned the morality of the war in Iran, Trump responded that Leo was “weak on crime,” adding, “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” J.D. Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, chimed in by admonishing the pope “to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” Hmm. If the pope can’t talk theology, who can? (Concord Monitor 5.2.26)READMORE>>>>>
I offer these anecdotes not as a gratuitous jaunt down memory lane but to provide perspective on the war of words between Donald Trump and Leo XIV. After the pontiff questioned the morality of the war in Iran, Trump responded that Leo was “weak on crime,” adding, “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” J.D. Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, chimed in by admonishing the pope “to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” Hmm. If the pope can’t talk theology, who can? (Concord Monitor 5.2.26)READMORE>>>>>
JD Vance’s Turning Point event canceled at Iowa State University
Vice President JD Vance's visit to Iowa this week has been canceled. The vice president was set to appear in Iowa on Thursday, April 30, to campaign alongside U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn for a campaign event. Later, Vance was to attend a Turning Point USA event on the Iowa State University campus. Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, was scheduled to join him. Both events have been canceled, according to media reports. The campaign event with Vance and Nunn has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 5, since Nunn is expected to be needed for a House vote on April 30, NBC Senior National Political Reporter Henry Gomez said on X, formerly known as Twitter. (Ames Tribune 4.28.26)READMORE>>>>>
Vice President JD Vance's visit to Iowa this week has been canceled. The vice president was set to appear in Iowa on Thursday, April 30, to campaign alongside U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn for a campaign event. Later, Vance was to attend a Turning Point USA event on the Iowa State University campus. Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, was scheduled to join him. Both events have been canceled, according to media reports. The campaign event with Vance and Nunn has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 5, since Nunn is expected to be needed for a House vote on April 30, NBC Senior National Political Reporter Henry Gomez said on X, formerly known as Twitter. (Ames Tribune 4.28.26)READMORE>>>>>
Most MAGA adhere to the 'Church of Trump' — not Christianity
I find it a bit dizzying to watch people who used to venerate religious leaders of all stripes now smack-talk the pope and commit what some have characterized as blasphemy.The past few days have featured the vice president of the United States lecturing the pope on morality and church doctrine; Sean Hannity making it official that he worships at the Church of Trump; Pete Hegseth quoting made-up verses from “Pulp Fiction” as if they were actual scripture; and Donald Trump styling himself as Jesus Christ. A few years ago, one might have wondered how these acts of contempt toward Christianity would go down with the religious right, but after 10 years of cultishness, it would be foolish to expect many defections. Still, as someone who came up in the conservative movement, I find it a bit dizzying to watch people who used to venerate religious leaders of all stripes now smack-talk the pope and commit what some have characterized as blasphemy. JD Vance took several swipes at the vicar of Christ. On Fox News, he advised that, “In some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.” That’s some high-octane condescension, but if he had stopped there, it would only have registered as normal MAGA insolence. But Vance wasn’t finished. Speaking the next day at a Turning Point USA event, Vance rebuked the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Christians (including himself: Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019) for his theology! The pope was wrong about just war theory, Vance insisted, and he then scolded the pope, saying, “In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.
(Chicago Sun-Times 4.25.26)READMORE>>>>>
I find it a bit dizzying to watch people who used to venerate religious leaders of all stripes now smack-talk the pope and commit what some have characterized as blasphemy.The past few days have featured the vice president of the United States lecturing the pope on morality and church doctrine; Sean Hannity making it official that he worships at the Church of Trump; Pete Hegseth quoting made-up verses from “Pulp Fiction” as if they were actual scripture; and Donald Trump styling himself as Jesus Christ. A few years ago, one might have wondered how these acts of contempt toward Christianity would go down with the religious right, but after 10 years of cultishness, it would be foolish to expect many defections. Still, as someone who came up in the conservative movement, I find it a bit dizzying to watch people who used to venerate religious leaders of all stripes now smack-talk the pope and commit what some have characterized as blasphemy. JD Vance took several swipes at the vicar of Christ. On Fox News, he advised that, “In some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.” That’s some high-octane condescension, but if he had stopped there, it would only have registered as normal MAGA insolence. But Vance wasn’t finished. Speaking the next day at a Turning Point USA event, Vance rebuked the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Christians (including himself: Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019) for his theology! The pope was wrong about just war theory, Vance insisted, and he then scolded the pope, saying, “In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.
(Chicago Sun-Times 4.25.26)READMORE>>>>>