VP JD Vance Turns His Face To God And Leaves The Atlantic In Hell
The Atlantic’s portrayal of J.D. Vance as a political opportunist who made a “bargain with the devil” to achieve power misrepresents his journey and motivations, particularly by overlooking his spiritual transformation. Articles like George Packer’s “The Talented Mr. Vance” and earlier pieces from 2021 paint Vance as a cynical shape-shifter who abandoned his principles for a Senate seat and vice-presidential role, betraying the working-class roots he chronicled in Hillbilly Elegy. They argue his shift from Trump critic to MAGA ally reflects a soulless pursuit of ambition, ignoring the possibility of genuine ideological evolution. This narrative dismisses Vance’s 2019 conversion to Catholicism, which he has described as a profound spiritual awakening inspired by St. Augustine’s City of God. His embrace of faith, rooted in a rejection of modern consumerism and a desire for virtue, suggests a turn toward God, not a pact with darker forces. The Atlantic’s focus on his political pivot oversimplifies a complex personal journey, framing it as betrayal rather than growth.
Vance’s critics at The Atlantic fail to engage with how his faith has shaped his worldview, instead emphasizing his inflammatory rhetoric and alignment with Trump as evidence of moral collapse. They overlook his own words in a 2020 essay for The Lamp, where he explains how Catholicism offered a framework to address societal issues like addiction and family breakdown with moral clarity, not just policy solutions. His conversion, far from strategic, was a response to a felt “cultural rupture” from his atheist days and a longing to reconnect with the community that raised him. The Atlantic’s narrative, echoed in posts on X calling Vance a “sellout,” assumes his faith is a convenient mask for ambition, yet his public discussions of St. Augustine’s critique of a pleasure-driven society reveal a consistent thread of seeking higher purpose. By reducing his story to one of political expediency, The Atlantic ignores the spiritual dimension that Vance himself says drives his advocacy for the working class.
The misconception stems from a broader tendency to view political figures through a binary lens of authenticity or hypocrisy, leaving little room for personal evolution. Vance’s journey—from a Christopher Hitchens-reading atheist to a Catholic convert championing conservative values—reflects a man grappling with his identity and the needs of his community, not a deal with the devil. His support for policies like tariffs or immigration reform, which The Atlantic decries as divisive, aligns with his stated goal of protecting the working-class communities he believes were failed by globalization and elite indifference. While his rhetoric can be sharp, it’s rooted in a moral outrage he attributes to his faith, not a cynical ploy for power. The Atlantic’s narrative, while compelling, misses this nuance, casting Vance as a villain when his actions suggest a man striving to align his politics with a God-centered vision for America’s renewal.
