| Vance’s new book lifts up Catholic converts |
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| Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters |
| Vice President JD Vance’s new memoir about his conversion to Catholicism — “Communion,” out today — puts a high-profile face on a small but distinctive slice of Roman Catholics in the U.S., Axios’ Russell Contreras writes. Data shows the church’s converts tend to be whiter, more conservative, and more observant than “cradle Catholics,” or those born into the faith “The story of how I regained my faith,” Vance writes in his book, shared with Axios, “only happened because I had lost it to begin with. … I’m glad I found my way back to the Church. I learned much along the way. But if you believe as I do, you know I’ve been fortunate and touched by God’s grace.“Many people like me, once lost, never return. This is what worries me and so many other Christians, and it’s why I will spend so much time on what led me to discard my faith.” By the numbers: Catholic converts are more observant by some measures. 38% attend Mass weekly, compared with 28% of cradle Catholics.58% say they receive Communion every time they go to Mass, compared with 34% of cradle Catholics. Cover: HarperRecounting his conversations about faith with his friend Charlie Kirk before his assassination, Vance writes:”Charlie taught me to love all parts of our Christian communion. I take from Charlie a certain charity about the body of Christ — the Church, defined very broadly. I am proud of my denomination, and I follow its (very strict!) rules as well as I can. When I fail, I go to confession and get back on the proverbial horse.” Keep reading … More on the book. |
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“The story of how I regained my faith,” Vance writes in his book, shared with Axios, “only happened because I had lost it to begin with. … I’m glad I found my way back to the Church. I learned much along the way. But if you believe as I do, you know I’ve been fortunate and touched by God’s grace.
By the numbers: Catholic converts are more observant by some measures. 38% attend Mass weekly, compared with 28% of cradle Catholics.58% say they receive Communion every time they go to Mass, compared with 34% of cradle Catholics.
Cover: Harper