Vance says Christian values key to nation’s future, slams liberalism at TPUSA event

Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at length at a major Turning Point USA meeting honoring Charlie Kirk at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss); During this meeting, he shared the impact of the slain conservative activist on his faith and told the students that a “properly ingrained Christian moral order” was key to the country’s future.

After the audience heard from Kirk’s widow, Erika, Vance took the stage and spoke briefly and then took questions from the audience on topics ranging from immigration to National Guard deployments to the Second Amendment. But many of the questions revolved around Vance’s faith and its impact on how he would govern as Vice President. Some asked his views on religious freedom, while another questioned how he raised his family in a bi-religious household where his wife is Hindu.

“I make no apology for thinking that Christian values ​​are an important foundation of this country,” Vance said in response to a question about the separation of church and state. “Anyone who tells you their views are neutral probably has a plan to sell you out. And at least I’m honest about thinking the Christian foundation of this country is a good thing.”

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Vance, meanwhile, railed against contemporary liberalism in his comments about faith Wednesday night, calling it a “perverted version of Christianity.”

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with focusing on disenfranchised people. That’s the focus of liberalism. But if you completely separate it from any religious duty or any civic virtue, then that can actually be an incitement to lawlessness, for example,” Vance said in response to a question. “You can’t just have compassion for the criminal. You also have to have justice. That’s why I think a properly ingrained Christian moral order is a very important part of the future of our country.”

Vance said he doesn’t think God should be banished from the public sphere, adding that he doesn’t believe that was the founders’ intention.

“Anyone who tells you that this is required by the Constitution is lying to you,” Vance said. “What happened is that the Supreme Court commented, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion’ to effectively expel the church from all public places at the federal, state and local levels. I think that was a terrible mistake, and we are still paying the consequences today.”

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Vance was asked tough policy-focused questions about faith and religion, as well as questions about living in an interfaith home at one point. Vance’s wife is Hindu.

Attendees listen to Vice President J.D. Vance speak during the “This Turning Point” campus tour event at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Vance stated that he was not a Christian when the two met, but over time he and his wife Usha decided to raise their children as Christians. Vance said open communication and respect for each other’s beliefs played a role in his marriage and his family’s decision to raise their children as Christians.

“He comes to church with me most of the time on Sundays. As I told him, and I’ve said publicly, and I’ll say it now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends, ‘Do I hope that he’s somehow affected by the same thing that I’m moving to church with? Yes, honestly, I do hope that.” Because I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope my wife will eventually come to see it the same way. But if not, then God says everyone has free will, and that’s fine with me.”

Vance also spoke about the impact Kirk had on his faith during an event honoring the slain activist Wednesday night. Vance said Kirk at least partially influenced him to become more vocal about his faith.

Signs with a photo of Charlie Kirk are seen before Vice President J.D. Vance speaks at the Turning Point USA event held at the Ole Miss Pavilion at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool, via AP)

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“This is just another way Charlie impacted my life; I can say that I grew up again in a generation where people didn’t talk much about their faith, even if they had very deep personal beliefs,” Vance told the crowd as he remembered his late friend.

“But the reason I try to be the best husband I can be, the best father I can be, the reason I care so much about all the things we talk about, is because I believed for a short period of time that I was put in this position to do the most good for God and for the country I love so much. And that’s the most important way my faith has impacted me.”