Vice President JD Vance has revealed a deeply personal faith divide with his wife Usha and his tender plea for her to convert to Christianity.
The second lady is Hindu and did not grow up in a religious household, according to her husband. Vance, on the other hand, is a devout Catholic who plans to raise his three children in a Christian household.
'Now, most Sundays Usha will come with me to church,' Vance told a MAGA audience at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday.
'Yes, my wife did not grow up Christian. I think it's fair to say that she grew up in a Hindu family but not a particularly religious family in either direction,' he said.
The vice president then revealed he has told Usha that he would like her to 'believe in the Christian Gospel.' It is the first time Vance has publicly revealed that he wishes for Usha to convert to Christianity.
'As I've told her, and I've said publicly, and I'll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends,' Vance continued. 'Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by 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.'
He added, 'But if she doesn't, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn't cause a problem for me.'
Vice President JD Vance (L) sits with his wife Usha Vance prior to a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony for Charlie Kirk in the Rose Garden of the White House on October 14
US Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha Vance and their children attend the Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, DC on June 14
JD Vance revealed that he hopes his wife converts to Christianity in the future
The vice president converted to Catholicism in 2019, a few years before launching his political career.
Vance revealed that he considered himself an agnostic atheist when he met his future wife.
'In fact, when I met my wife…I would consider myself an agnostic or an atheist, and that's what I think she would have considered herself as well.'
Vance revealed that his 8-year-old son has already received his first Communion last year.
'Our two oldest kids ... go to a Christian school. Our 8-year-old did his first Communion about a year ago. That's the way that we have come to our arrangement.'
According to Vance, Usha has a close relationship with the priest who baptized the vice president.
'Usha's closer to the priest who baptized me than maybe I am. They talk about this stuff,' he concluded. 'My attitude is, you figure this stuff out as a family, and you trust in God to have a plan.'
The couple met while they were both attending Yale Law School and married in 2014 in dual Christian and Hindu ceremonies.
The couple have agreed to raise their children as Christians
Usha grew up in a non-religious Hindu household
Usha claims she encouraged her husband to rediscover his Christian roots
Usha has publicly stated that she encouraged her husband to reconnect with his Christian roots during their marriage.
Vance was at the University of Mississippi to support his late friend Charlie Kirk's Turning Point organization.
The vice president and his wife Usha flew to Utah to meet Charlie's wife Erika Kirk following the assassination on September 10. They flew his coffin on Air Force Two back to his home in Arizona.
Vance and Usha both attended the arena funeral days later at the State Farm Arena in Phoenix, attended by more than 90,000 people.
