By JON MICHAEL RAASCH, US POLITICAL REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
Vice President JD Vance, already a New York Times best-selling author, has written a new book about his spiritual journey from Christian to atheist to devout Catholic, fueling speculation about his all-but-certain 2028 presidential bid.
‘Ive been writing this book for a long time, and Im honored to finally be able to share the full story with you all,’ Vance posted on X with a link to his upcoming book, ‘Communion.’
‘Communion is about my personal journey and how I found my way back to faith,’ he wrote alongside a link to pre-order it. It will be published on June 16 by HarperCollins.
A book launch is the most obvious signal an aspiring politician is taking steps to make a run for the White House. Governors Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro have already unveiled their own tomes this year.
‘Here we go with the 2028 campaign and pandering to the evangelicals,’ one social media user commented on Vance’s announcement.
Vance is widely expected to launch a presidential campaign for the 2028 election, though he has said he’s not going to focus on the gambit until after the 2026 midterms at the end of this year.
According to prediction markets, Vance is widely favored to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2028. He has a 37 percent chance of doing so, according to Kalshi. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has a 25 percent chance.
Vice President JD Vance with American Pope Leo XIV in May 2025
The cover of Vance’s forthcoming book about his Catholic faith. It is being published in June
Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha are greeted by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky as they arrive to attend a Holy Mass for the Beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, in St Peter’s square in The Vatican
The book will focus on how Vance strayed from the Christianity of his youth, wandered into atheism in college and ultimately returned to Christ in 2019 by becoming Catholic.
‘By the time I left the Marines in 2007 and began college at The Ohio State University, I read Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, and called myself an atheist,’ he wrote in 2020 for The Lamp Magazine.
‘Atheism leads to an undeniable familial and cultural rupture,’ Vance wrote at the time. ‘To be an atheist is to be no longer of the community that made you who you were.’
In the entry, he noted how he identified as an atheist to be accepted into ‘elite’ circles, despite his decisively rural upbringing.
The new book will pick up on some parts where his last best-seller, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ a memoir about his Appalachian upbringing, left off, according to the publisher.
The book announcement comes one day after Second Lady Usha Vance released a new podcast focused on childhood literacy.
‘Storytime With the Second Lady,’ will feature prominent figures – like NASCAR legend Danica Patrick – alongside Vance as they read short stories and discuss their central themes in 15-minute episodes meant for young children.