US Vice President JD Vance on Friday clarified that his wife, Usha Vance, has no plans to convert to Christianity, two days after his remarks at a public event triggered a wave of reactions online.
“She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage or any interfaith relationship, I hope she may one day see things as I do,” Vance wrote on X, responding to criticism. “Regardless, I'll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she's my wife.”
Vance’s clarification followed his comments at a Turning Point USA event in Mississippi on Wednesday, where he said he hoped his wife, who was raised in a Hindu household, would one day “be moved” by the Catholic Church and “embrace Christianity.”
Asked by an Indian-origin woman about how he and his wife manage their “intercultural household,” Vance replied, “Most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church. Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.”
The remark sparked a flurry of online commentary, prompting the vice president to issue a detailed response defending both his statement and his wife. “What a disgusting comment, and it's hardly been the only one along these lines,” he wrote in a lengthy post on X replying to a particular comment.
“My Christian faith tells me the Gospel is true and is good for human beings. My wife… is the most amazing blessing I have in my life. She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many years ago,” Vance said. “Posts like this wreak of anti-Christian bigotry. Yes, Christians have beliefs, and one of those beliefs is that we want to share them with other people.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019 after being raised Protestant and spending years as an agnostic, said he would not avoid questions about faith as a public figure. “I'm a public figure, and people are curious, and I wasn't going to avoid the question,” he said.
The couple met at Yale Law School when neither identified as religious. They now have three children, whom they are raising in the Christian faith.
In a 2024 interview with Fox News, Vance said Usha, who was raised in a Hindu family, played a pivotal role in his spiritual journey. “She was raised non-Christian but very religious, and she knew I was searching for something,” he said.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, in the same interview, reflected on her upbringing, saying, “My parents are Hindu. That made them very good people. I’ve seen the power of that in my life. I knew JD was searching for something. This just felt right for him.”
Vance’s comments come amid growing debate in the US over faith, immigration, and cultural identity. Recent Diwali greetings by Hindu-origin public figures such as Tulsi Gabbard and FBI official Kash Patel were met with anti-Hindu comments online, underscoring rising tensions over religious diversity in American political discourse.
