When the couple married in 2014, they held two ceremonies, including one where they were blessed by a Hindu pundit, per Politico.
Vance thinks Christianity is an ‘answer’ to existential questions about American identity
During a 2023 talk hosted by American Moment, Vance brought up Christian nationalism, which he dismissed as a term “meant to be very scary.” But he went on to explain how he envisions Christianity informing American life — and, particularly, American identity.
“We’re a country that is majority Christian, nominally, but not nearly majority Christian in terms of practice,” he said. “We’re a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy that’s heavily exposed to the economic forces of globalization, and I think that we have not yet figured out how to harmonize that with some basic sense of what it means to be an American in the 21st century. I happen to think that the Christian faith is a good way of helping provide an answer to that question.”
When he converted, Vance said his views on public policy were aligned with Catholic social teaching. “Part of social conservatism’s challenge for viability in the 21st century is that it can’t just be about issues like abortion, but it has to have a broader vision of political economy, and the common good,” he told Rod Dreher.
His statements about abortion and immigration may trigger blowback from some Catholics
On July 7, Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he supported mifepristone “being accessible.” Mifepristone is used alongside misoprostol in abortions before 10 weeks of pregnancy. It can also be used to treat high blood pressure in adults who have Cushing’s syndrome and type 2 diabetes and cannot have or have failed surgery.
“This tawdry episode informs us that Vance has no principles, at least none that aren’t for sale, and the asking price is cheap,” C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, told the National Catholic Register.
J.D. Flynn, the editor-in-chief of The Pillar, a Catholic opinion and news site, wrote in an analysis on Friday (July 12) that if Vance was selected it could lead to a new conversation about Eucharistic coherence, or the idea that a Catholic’s belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist should be accompanied by actions that align with the Catholic Church’s teaching. This argument was used most recently to suggest pro-abortion Catholic politicians Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi should not receive Communion.
In a campaign fundraising message on July 8, Vance called for mass deportations of immigrants without legal status, a promise also present in the Republican Party platform. “We need to deport every single person who invaded our country illegally.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a pathway to legal status and citizenship for the approximately 11 million immigrants who live in the U.S. without legal authorization, emphasizing the obligation in the Catholic Catechism to “welcome the foreigner.”
Aleja Hertzler-McCain also contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared here.
