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JD and Usha Vance navigate a marriage with differing religious views, a topic that recently took center stage during a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi on October 29, 2025. Vice President JD Vance expressed his hope that Usha, who he mentioned was raised in a mostly non-practicing Hindu family, would eventually embrace Christianity. “I genuinely wish that because I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope one day my wife sees it in the same light,” he remarked.
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His comments sparked a flurry of discussions online, with some criticizing his description of Usha as agnostic, suggesting it overlooked her cultural heritage and misrepresented her family’s faith. “Usha is a practicing Hindu who led him to embrace his own faith. Little did she know he would undermine her for his presidential aspirations,” one user commented on X. In reality, Usha’s parents are devout Hindus, and she has previously spoken of her religious upbringing.
Critics also accused JD of inconsistency, arguing that a true Christian wouldn’t marry someone who doesn’t share their beliefs. “How can Vance represent American Christianity while being married to a non-believer? ‘Do not be unequally yoked…'” another user pointed out, referencing a biblical passage. Additionally, some criticized JD for discussing such personal matters publicly without Usha’s presence. “It’s the weakest, most cowardly, and unmanly action,” another user wrote. JD’s relatively recent religious commitment might explain his comfort with this disconnect.
Although JD Vance now proudly identifies as a Christian, his journey into faith began only a few years before his vice-presidential tenure. At the Turning Point USA gathering, he revealed that he previously identified as agnostic or atheist, a sentiment he claimed Usha shared. His conversion to Catholicism in 2019 coincided with the onset of his political ambitions.
Despite JD’s assertions about Usha’s beliefs, their 2014 wedding was an interfaith celebration, featuring traditional Hindu elements. This contrasts with how Usha describes her own background. “My parents are Hindu, and that’s part of what made them such great parents and individuals,” she shared with Fox News in June 2024. “I’ve witnessed the positive impact of that in my life.”
JD Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019
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JD Vance may now wear his Christianity like a badge of honor, but he had been a churchgoer for only a handful of years when he was elected vice president. At the Turning Point USA event, he admitted that he identified as either an agnostic or an atheist, something he said was also true of Usha Vance. Interestingly, though, he only converted to Catholicism in 2019, a year after he started considering a career in politics.
And despite his claims that Usha was largely agnostic or atheist herself, they celebrated their 2014 wedding in an interfaith ceremony that featured them both in traditional Hindu attire. That’s also not how she has described her upbringing. “My parents are Hindu and that’s one of the things that made them such good parents and good people,” she told Fox News in June 2024. “And I have seen the power of that in my own life.”
There’s another Great Indian Wedding to celebrate…
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 16, 2024
JD’s religion isn’t the only change of heart he has had since marrying Usha. In fact, JD has fully transformed from Appalachian teen to right-wing politician in some short years. Just like Usha was a Hillary Clinton supporter in the 2016 election, JD also vowed to vote for her to prevent Donald Trump from winning. “I think there’s a chance, if I feel like Trump has a really good chance of winning, that I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton,” he said on NPR‘s “Fresh Air” in 2016.
