Overview
- This week Vance published Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, a memoir that traces his path from nondenominational Christianity to atheism and then to Catholicism.
- He describes a private epiphany and adult baptism at a cathedral in Burgundy, France, and credits Catholic theology and social teachings with helping him recover from childhood trauma.
- Parts of the book stress family and fertility concerns and argue that Christianity should shape social life and personal agency rather than bow to political aims.
- Several reviewers say the memoir reads like two books: an introspective, theological first half and a later section that openly defends Trump-era policies and acknowledges Vance’s shift from Trump critic to supporter.
- Coverage is divided along ideological lines with sympathetic outlets emphasizing the faith narrative and critics, led by a prominent Slate review, faulting the book’s abrupt partisan turn and warning it reframes religion as a vehicle for policy.