Religious Vance seeks to avoid Maga schism as he keeps the faith for 2028

Vice-president wears religion on his sleeve but winding spiritual path could alienate evangelicals and Catholics

US vice-president JD Vance has worn his religion on his sleeve since converting to the Catholicism in 2019. He recently published a book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, and memorably met the late Pope Francis at the Vatican on Easter Sunday in 2025, a day before the pontiff died.

But his religious identity could take on new weight as he positions himself for a presidential run in 2028, in which a successful campaign would make him only the third Catholic president in US history. Vance's winding spiritual path - combined with his avowed evangelical roots - have the potential to stymie him, as he seeks to retain the Christian nationalist voters that have sustained Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement while wooing fellow Catholics.