Ethan Walker
US Vice President JD Vance's conversion to Catholicism has been well-documented, with the politician himself writing about his journey to Catholicism in a 2020 essay for the Catholic journal The Lamp. In the essay, titled How I Joined the Resistance: On Mamaw and Becoming Catholic, Vance describes his religious journey, which began with his family, who rarely went to church, although his grandmother read the Bible and taught a form of Christianity that demanded hard work, forgiveness, and hope. After a period of strict biblical literalism and atheism, Vance eventually concluded that he needed grace to provide him with the virtues to be a good husband and father, and so he converted to Catholicism.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of conversion | 2019 |
| Religion before conversion | Atheist |
| Reason for conversion | Needed grace to be a good husband and father |
| Political affiliation | Republican |
| Political position | Vice President |
| Political association | MAGA, Trump administration |
| Catholic publication written for | The Lamp |
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What You'll Learn
JD Vance's religious journey
US Vice President JD Vance's religious journey has been well documented. Raised in a disadvantaged family from the Rust Belt, Vance's family rarely went to church when he was young. However, his grandmother, the most stable adult in his turbulent household, regularly read the Bible and taught a form of Christianity that demanded hard work, forgiveness, and hope.
As a teenager, Vance, then known as James Donald Bowman, fervently attended his father's evangelical Baptist congregation. He also embraced the strict biblical literalism of his father's Pentecostal church, crediting it as a stabilizing force. However, in college, Vance embraced atheism, reading authors such as Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris.
After serving in the Marines in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, Vance returned skeptical of the war and the ideology that underpinned it. He later wrote that without a church or anything to anchor him to his childhood faith, he slid from "devout to nominal, and then to something very much less."
In 2019, Vance converted to Catholicism, writing in a 2020 essay for the Catholic journal, *The Lamp*, that he "needed grace" to provide him with the virtues to be a good husband and father. He also wrote that Catholicism provided him with a new way of looking at the social ills he described in his 2016 bestselling memoir, "*Hillbilly Elegy*."
Vance's conversion has raised questions about faith and political hypocrisy, as some of his political positions are seen as anti-Catholic. Despite this, he has brandished his Catholicism as a banner, making his faith a component of the cultural war launched by the Trump administration and the MAGA movement.
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Catholicism's influence on his views
US Vice President JD Vance's conversion to Catholicism in 2019 has been well-documented. In his youth, Vance attended his father's evangelical Baptist congregation and embraced the biblical literalism of his father's Pentecostal church. However, in college, he adopted atheism, which he later described as "arrogant and fashionable".
Vance's Catholicism has been described as a "political conversion", shaping his worldview and providing him with a new perspective on the social issues he described in his 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy". In a 2020 essay for the Catholic journal "The Lamp", Vance wrote:
> "I felt desperate for a worldview that understood our bad behavior as simultaneously social and individual, structural and moral; that recognized that we are products of our environment; that we have a responsibility to change that environment, but that we are still moral beings with individual duties."
Vance's conversion also brought him into contact with a Catholic intellectual movement known as postliberalism, viewed by some critics as having reactionary or authoritarian leanings. As a prominent political figure, his adoption of Catholicism has brought greater attention to this previously little-known movement.
Vance's Catholic faith has been a prominent feature of his political career. As the running mate of Donald Trump, he has made his faith a component of the cultural war launched by the Trump administration. His influence within the administration has been noted, particularly with regard to his connections with Silicon Valley billionaires who supported Trump's re-election campaign.
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His Catholic conversion's political implications
US Vice President JD Vance's conversion to Catholicism has raised questions about the alignment of his political actions with his faith. While Vance has written and spoken extensively about his religious journey, his political views have been criticised for not aligning with Catholic teachings.
Vance's conversion in 2019 provided him with a new perspective on social issues such as addiction and family breakdowns, which he had previously discussed in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy". Catholicism offered him a worldview that recognised both structural and individual factors influencing human behaviour, as well as the importance of personal responsibility and environmental change.
However, as a politician, Vance has been criticised for holding anti-Catholic positions and for not reconciling his political actions with his chosen religion. This has led to accusations of hypocrisy and the label of a "cafeteria Catholic", someone who selectively chooses which aspects of the faith to accept or reject.
Vance's conversion has also brought him into close contact with a Catholic intellectual movement that some critics view as having reactionary or authoritarian leanings. This movement was relatively unknown to the American public until Vance's rise to prominence as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
As a politician, Vance has established connections with tech billionaires and Silicon Valley elites, which has created some tension with the populist MAGA wing of the Republican Party. He has also been an outspoken supporter of certain administration policies, such as the US bombing of Iran.
Despite these complexities, Vance's Catholicism has been a prominent aspect of his public image, and he has brandished his faith as a component of the cultural war associated with the Trump administration.
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His association with Trump
JD Vance, the US vice president, has gone from being a critic of former President Donald Trump to becoming his right-hand man, with full MAGA backing. In 2016, Vance was a bitter critic of Trump, calling him an "idiot" and "reprehensible" in public, and comparing him to Adolf Hitler in private. However, by 2024, when Trump chose him as his running mate, Vance had become one of his most ardent defenders.
Vance's transformation from a "never Trumper" to a stalwart loyalist is notable. He began to publicly change his stance when he launched his Senate campaign in 2021, deleting his critical tweets from 2016 and apologizing for his past criticisms in a 2021 interview. He also downplayed the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters, demonstrating his loyalty to Trump, which earned him the former president's endorsement.
Vance's political beliefs, which mix isolationism with economic populism, align with Trump's, and he has been described as an ideological successor to paleoconservatives. He has a close relationship with the Silicon Valley billionaires who helped propel Trump to a second term and has been key in negotiating between Elon Musk and Trump.
Vance has also defended Trump's actions leading up to and during the Capitol attack. He criticized Vice President Mike Pence's handling of the 2020 election results certification and questioned whether Pence's life was truly in danger during the riots. Additionally, Vance has vocally supported Trump's stance on abortion, stating that Trump would veto a national abortion ban.
Vance has been described as an ideologue of 'post-liberal' Catholicism, brandishing his faith as a component of the cultural war launched by the Trump administration. He has also supported Trump's stance on Ukraine, accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being disrespectful to Trump and questioning whether Zelenskyy had ever offered thanks for US support.
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His writings on Catholicism
In his writings, JD Vance has been open about his conversion to Catholicism and how it has influenced his political views. In a 2020 essay for the Catholic journal The Lamp, Vance wrote about his spiritual journey, describing how he embraced atheism in college but later felt he needed grace to be a good husband and father, which he found in the Catholic faith. He also wrote about his once-negative impressions of Catholicism, influenced by his time in his father's Pentecostal church, and how his views evolved through conversations with Catholic individuals and exposure to Catholic practices.
Vance's memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," provides insights into his religious upbringing and family dynamics. He describes his family's infrequent church attendance during his childhood and how his grandmother, a stabilizing force in his turbulent household, taught him a form of Christianity centred on hard work, forgiveness, and hope. In the memoir, Vance also mentions his admiration for his Catholic uncle, Dan, and his aunt's conversion to Catholicism upon marrying Dan.
In an interview with The New York Times' Ross Douthat, Vance discussed how his Catholic faith and social teachings influence his views on governance and his care for ""the rights of the unborn" and "dignified work." He emphasized that his faith shapes how he lives his life, interacts with his family, and approaches his job. However, he also acknowledged the need to balance his religious beliefs with his obligations to serve the interests of the American people as vice president.
Vance's writings and public appearances have sparked discussions about the role of religion in politics and the cultural war launched by the Trump administration. As vice president, he has brandished his Catholicism as a banner, influencing policy directions and attracting attention from various groups, including tech billionaires and the populist MAGA wing.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, JD Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019.
Vance was raised in a family that rarely went to church. He embraced atheism during his college years. As a teenager, he attended his father's evangelical Baptist congregation.
Vance has said that he "needed grace" to provide him with the virtues to be a good husband and father. He also said that Catholicism provided him with a new way of looking at social ills.
JD Vance's Catholicism has helped shape his views. It has also raised questions about faith and political hypocrisy, with some suggesting that he rationalizes anti-Catholic positions.
Vance has written extensively about his life in faith, including in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," and a long essay in the Catholic journal, "The Lamp." In these works, he describes his journey from a drug-using teenager with anger problems and family troubles to an accomplished family man excited about his Catholic faith.
