VP JD Vance releases memoir on Catholic conversion
Vice President JD Vance's new book on Catholic conversion and returning to faith was released on Tuesday, 10 years after his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, launched him from author to political figure.
Objective Facts
Vice President JD Vance released his second memoir, 'Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,' on June 16, 2026, ten years after 'Hillbilly Elegy' made him a national figure. Vance converted to Catholicism at St. Gertrude Priory church in Cincinnati in 2019. The HarperCollins memoir focuses on how religion influences Vance's work as vice president and shapes his future goals. Vance's faith-centered memoir comes as he positions for a potential 2028 presidential run. In the book, Vance addresses his controversial 'childless cat ladies' comment, calling it 'one of the dumbest things I ever said.'
Left-Leaning Perspective
Salon's commentary on Vance's book release was sharply critical, writing that the 'entire excerpt is replete with Vance's overbearing efforts to inject religious language into every beat of his story,' and that 'Vance's religious conversion and book about it only serve as further evidence that the man cares for little else but his own striving for power and status.' The outlet suggested that Vance picked Catholicism in 2019 'in the midst of a lot of online chatter that created the illusion that "trad" Catholics were the next big political trend.' Salon also criticized what it characterized as Vance's contradictory approach to Catholicism, noting that 'he's been attacking Pope Leo XIV, even going so far as to chide the pontiff to "be careful when he talks about matters of theology." Questioning the religious credentials of the pope isn't what Catholic believers tend to do, but it is a longstanding tradition for conservative Protestants, especially of the evangelical sort that Vance wants to appeal to.' The National Catholic Reporter noted that Vance 'does express regret for criticizing the Democratic Party's "childless cat ladies,"' in the memoir. Salon also observed that 'despite Vance's longtime benefactor, billionaire Peter Thiel, pouring an unholy amount of money in trying to manifest the trad-Cath trend,' white evangelicals still dominate the GOP, 'and the marketing of Vance's book suggests he's harboring regrets that he didn't make the safer political choice when it came to his much-ballyhooed conversion.'
Right-Leaning Perspective
Fox News by Alexander Hall reported straightforwardly on the book release, noting that 'Vance is among many millennials and members of Gen Z who are rejecting the secularism of recent years and converting specifically to the Catholic Church.' The outlet quoted Vance from the National Catholic Reporter saying, 'The story of how I regained my faith, of course, only happened because I had lost it to begin with.' CNN reported that Terry Schilling, the founder of American Principles Project, a socially conservative advocacy group that has urged Republican leaders to lean into culture wars, 'is already enthusiastic about the prospect of Vance succeeding Trump' and 'said he anticipates Vance's new book will allow him to lay out the commonalities between himself and evangelical Republicans, who remain an influential voting bloc in GOP politics.' A conservative-leaning analysis noted that 'Polling shows that Catholics are moving in the direction of those who identify as evangelicals by becoming more conservative,' with 'Trump won 59% of Catholics in 2024, according to CNN exit polls, higher than any Republican presidential nominee since at least 1972.' Fox News highlighted Vance as part of a generational trend, describing him as 'among many Millennials and members of Gen Z who are rejecting the secularism of recent years and converting specifically to the Catholic Church.'
Deep Dive
When Vance published 'Hillbilly Elegy' in 2016, he had drifted away from Christian faith, following a broader national retreat from organized religion. Now as vice president and a practicing Catholic since 2019, he has chronicled his conversion in 'Communion,' publishing Tuesday. The book arrives as Catholicism experiences resurgence in America with conversions increasing, though a Pew Research Center analysis found the Church loses eight former Catholics for every adult it gains through conversion. The core dispute centers on whether Vance's book represents genuine spiritual conviction or strategic political positioning. Allies of Vance deny the book is meant to stir presidential ambition speculation and claim Vance cleared the book with White House leadership, with positive reception from Trump's inner circle. However, Salon argued the conversion serves as evidence of Vance's self-interest and suggested he adopted Catholicism opportunistically when it appeared trendy as a 'trad Catholic' movement online. Additionally, critics note apparent theological inconsistency in Vance attacking Pope Leo XIV on theological matters, a practice associated with conservative Protestants rather than committed Catholics. What remains unresolved is whether Vance's use of medieval Catholic theology ('ordo amoris') to defend Trump administration deportation policies represents authentic theological reasoning or selective application of doctrine to justify predetermined political positions. While conversions are surging with some dioceses reporting record highs and Gen Z converts filling church pews, long-term demographic trends for Catholicism remain uncertain.