JD Vance hopes his Hindu wife will convert to Christianity: How US Vice President’s remarks reflect America’s institutionalised Christian supremacism and anti-Hindu bias

On 29th October, United States Vice President James David (JD) Vance declared that he hoped his wife, Usha Bala Chilukuri who comes from a Hindu family of Telugu immigrants, would eventually convert to Christianity in the name of “free will” and “mutual respect” in their interfaith union. He made the comments while addressing the Turning Point USA (United States of America) Event in Mississippi. “Now, most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church. As I’ve told her, and as I’ve said publicly, and as I’ll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends, 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,” he expressed. JUST IN: JD Vance says he's raising his children Christian, and he hopes his agnostic wife, Usha, comes around to the Christian faithVance's 8-year-old did his first Communion "about a year ago," and his two oldest kids go to a Christian school"Most Sundays, Usha comes… pic.twitter.com/RuXAWOD58j— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 30, 2025 The statement came after a query about Vance’s hopes for his wife to possibly “come to Christ” in the future. He emphasised that the couple had made their “own arrangement” in their dual-faith home as well as insisted that religious beliefs are very personal and do not cause any issues in their family. “If she doesn’t, then god says everybody has free will, and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me. One of the most important Christian principles is that you respect free will,” Vance claimed. “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 conveyed and maintained that the pair has managed their interfaith household in a “balanced” manner. “Everybody has to come to their own arrangement here. The way that we’ve come to our arrangement is that she’s my best friend. We talk to each other about this stuff. We’ve decided to raise our kids Christian. Our two oldest kids, who go to school, 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,” the vice president highlighted. Vance also boasted that Usha was more acquainted with the priest who performed his baptism. Vance advocates for the integration of religion and politics The Republican leader even disagreed with the idea that religion must be kept out of politics and public life. “Anybody who tells you it’s required by the Constitution is lying to you. The Supreme Court interpreted ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion’ to effectively exclude religion from public spaces at the federal, state and local level. I think it was a terrible mistake, and we’re still paying for the consequences of it today,” he complained. “I make no apologies for thinking that Christian values are an important foundation of this country. Anybody who’s telling you their view is neutral likely has an agenda to sell you and I’m at least honest about the fact that I think the Christian foundation of this country is a good thing,” Vance asserted regarding the separation of church and state. Vance engaged in discussions with college students at the occasion amid roaring applause from the conservative crowd, taking the place of his late friend and conservative leader Charlie Kirk who was shot dead in Utah last month. Usha showed reluctance to embrace Christianity The Second Lady of the United States spoke out just a few months ago about how she, a Hindu and her husband who is a Catholic, were raising their children in an interfaith home. “When you convert to Catholicism it comes with several important obligations, like to raise your child in the faith and all that,” she explained in a conversation with Meghan McCain. However, contrary to her spouse’s wishes, she outlined her disinterest and stressed, “We had to have a lot of real conversations about how do you do that, when I’m not Catholic, and I’m not intending to convert or anything like that.” Usha stressed that they had given “them each the choice,” as she talked about sending their children to a Catholic school. She stated that her children understood her position on the issue properly, even if she hoped to turn their church-going custom into a “family experience.” Usha pointed out, “The kids know that I’m not Catholic, and they have plenty of access to the Hindu tradition from books that we give them, to things that we show them, to the recent trip to India, and some of the religious elements of that visit.” How Usha’s Hindu roots supported Vance in his beliefs Vance met Usha while attending Yale Law School prior to his conversion to Catholicism in 2019. He was brought up in a non-Christian household and did not frequently