I grew up...: Usha Vance on why she never converted to Christianity like JD Vance

Published 24 June 2026 · india

After months of controversy over JD Vance's comments that he hoped his Hindu wife might one day become Christian, Usha Vance has offered explanation for

After months of controversy over JD Vance's comments that he hoped his Hindu wife might one day become Christian, Usha Vance has offered explanation for why she has never considered converting. She said that, unlike her husband, she did not experience the same search for stability and belonging that eventually drew the US Vice President to Catholicism. Speaking in a CBS Sunday Morning interview that aired earlier this month, Usha Vance addressed speculation surrounding her religious beliefs and whether JD Vance had ever wanted her to embrace Catholicism. Read Full Story "I think people have really cottoned onto the idea at one point that JD was interested in my conversion," she said. "And I think that that was misunderstood for the fundamental reason that he is Catholic; part of his faith is wanting to spread his faith. But it's not like he's proselytizing to me every day." Her comments came months after discussions surrounding JD Vance's faith journey resurfaced in political circles following the release of his new book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which details his conversion to Catholicism and the role religion has played in shaping his personal and political life.

'I GREW UP IN A HAPPY, STABLE HOUSEHOLD' While discussing the different paths she and her husband took in life, Usha said her upbringing had given her a sense of stability that JD spent years searching for. JD Vance, who chronicled a turbulent childhood in his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, told CBS that he spent much of his life looking for something that felt "rooted" and "stable". "That's exactly right," Vance said when asked whether faith helped provide that stability. "I grew up in some ways a very nontraditional household, you know? A revolving door of people coming in, people coming out, raised by my grandparents at some points, raised by my parents at some points, my mom, my dad," he said. "There was a certain movement and chaos to my youth." Usha, who was raised in a Hindu family by Indian immigrant parents in Southern California, appeared to draw a contrast between their experiences. She reveled that she did not feel the same need for religious transformation because she had grown up in a stable environment. "I grew up in a Hindu household that was a very stable household.

I have not felt the same need to seek something different that he (JD Vance) has," she said. She also reflected on her husband's spiritual journey, recalling a remark she once made to him: "Therapy didn't work for you; church does." "And it's not that therapy doesn't work for other people," she explained. "But JD just doesn't have the right kind of trust in that process. He just didn't feel at home in it." The interview also offered a rare look into the couple's family life. The Vances, who already share three children -- Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel -- are expecting their fourth child in the coming weeks. Usha revealed that conversations with Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, influenced discussions about expanding their family. "I think it really heightened JD's sense that he'd been talking about this for a while," she said. "That sense that if you could have that other child, then you would have nothing to regret." She stressed, however, that the decision was already under discussion and was not driven by a single conversation. JD VANCE'S 'AWKWARD' KNEE PAT GOES VIRAL The spotlight on the Vance family intensified days later when JD Vance appeared on his wife's podcast, Storytime with the Second Lady, prompting backlash.