U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance recently doubled down on comments about his interfaith marriage, saying he hopes his wife, Usha Vance, eventually converts to Christianity. That sparked some backlash, with people accusing the vice president of discounting Usha’s religion.
During a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event at the University of Mississippi on Oct. 29, Vance was asked why many Republicans now identify with Christianity. To begin his answer, the vice president explained that Usha grew up in a Hindu household that wasn’t “particularly religious,” and when the couple met in law school, both were agnostic or atheist.
Vance was baptized as a Catholic in 2019, and the couple’s two oldest children attend Christian school. “That’s how we decided to come to our arrangement,” the vice president told the campus crowd. He continued:
As I’ve told [Usha], and as I’ve said publicly, and as I’ll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends: Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing I was moved by in church? Yes. I honestly do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope that eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.
If Usha doesn’t convert to Christianity, the vice president added, “that doesn’t cause a problem with me” because “God says that everybody has free will.” Maintaining interfaith relationships, Vance said, is “something that you work out with your friends, your family, the person you most love.”
The Interfaith Marriage of JD Vance and Usha Vance
J.D. and Usha Vance, who were married in an interfaith ceremony in 2014, have decided to raise their three children as Christians. Previously, the vice president discussed his wife’s support of his faith, saying she attends church with him and helps “keep the kids quiet.”
RELATED: JD Vance Hosts ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ To Honor Slain Activist
At last week’s TPUSA event, J.D. Vance said anyone in an interfaith marriage needs to maintain open communication about the topic. “You’ve just got to talk to the person that God has put you with,” he said, “and you’ve got to make those decisions as a family unit.” The vice president revealed that the couple’s oldest child, 8-year-old son Ewan, recently celebrated his First Communion and was “very proud” of the milestone.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance recently doubled down on comments about his interfaith marriage, saying he hopes his wife, Usha Vance, eventually converts to Christianity.Click to PostIn June, Second Lady Usha Vance told Meghan McCain that her children “know that I’m not Catholic” and are exposed to Hindu traditions and teachings. The kids can choose whether to be baptized, Usha added.
