--- title: "Vance is among 1.5% of Americans who have converted to Catholicism" description: "Converts make up 8% of U.S. Catholics. The remaining 92% of U.S. Catholics were raised in the faith and still identify with it today." date: "2026-06-05" authors: - name: "Patricia Tevington" job_title: "Research Associate" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/patricia-tevington/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/06/05/vance-is-among-1-5-of-americans-who-have-converted-to-catholicism/" categories: - "Beliefs & Practices" - "Catholicism" - "U.S. Religious Demographics" --- # Vance is among 1.5% of Americans who have converted to Catholicism ![A parishioner prays during the Ash Wednesday service at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver on Feb. 18, 2026. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/SR_26.06.05_catholic-switching_featured.png?w=640) Vice President JD Vance will soon [publish a memoir](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/apr/01/jd-vance-new-memoir-book-catholicism-communion) documenting the religious journey that led to his conversion to Catholicism. Ahead of its release, here are key facts about converts to and from Catholicism in the United States, drawn primarily from Pew Research Center’s [2023-24 Religious Landscape Study](https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/). **About this research** This Pew Research Center analysis explores key facts about converts to Catholicism in the United States. #### Why did we do this? Pew Research Center conducts high-quality research to inform the public, journalists and leaders. Studying religion in the United States is a key part of the Center’s long-standing research, and [Catholicism](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/religions/christianity/catholicism/) is a major Christian tradition we study. Learn more about [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) and our [religion research](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/). #### How did we do this? This analysis draws on three Pew Research Center surveys: - [2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/) (RLS) - February 2025 study of U.S. adults exploring [connections to Catholicism](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/16/47-of-us-adults-have-a-personal-or-family-connection-to-catholicism/) - May 2025 study of U.S. adults examining [religious switching](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/12/15/why-do-some-americans-leave-their-religion-while-others-stay/) The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey (RLS) was conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024, among 36,908 U.S. adults. Here are the [questions used in the 2023-24 RLS survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_questionnaire-web-phone.pdf), the [topline](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_topline.pdf) and the survey [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-methodology/). The February 2025 survey was conducted Feb. 3-9, 2025, among 9,544 U.S. adults. Here are the [questions used in the February 2025 survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_questionnaire.pdf), the [topline](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_topline.pdf) and the survey [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/16/catholic-life-in-us-methodology/). The May 2025 survey was conducted May 5-11, 2025, among 8,937 U.S. adults. Here are the [questions used in the May 2025 survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/PR_2025.12.15_us-religious-switching_questionnaire.pdf), the [topline](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/PR_2025.12.15_us-religious-switching_topline.pdf) and the survey [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/12/15/methodology-us-religious-switching/). The RLS was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Templeton Religion Trust, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. **C**onverts to Catholicism account for 1.5% of all U.S.** **adults. ****These are adults who say their current religion is Catholicism but that their childhood religion was something different. As of 2024, there were about [267 million adults in the U.S.](https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-national-detail.html#v2024), which works out to roughly 4 million Catholic converts. While Catholic converts account for a relatively small share of the country’s adult population, the number of converts to Catholicism is on par with or larger than the number of Americans who identify with some [sizable Protestant groups](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-religious-identity/#a-detailed-look-at-the-size-of-protestant-denominations), including Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Reformed Christians. Converts make up 8% of U.S. Catholics. The remaining 92% of U.S. Catholics are “cradle Catholics,” meaning they were raised in the faith and still identify with it today. **Catholicism in the U.S. loses more people than it gains from religious switching.** For every adult who becomes a Catholic after having been raised something different, more than eight of those who were raised Catholic no longer identify that way. This same pattern appears in [many of the other countries](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/23/catholicism-has-lost-people-to-religious-switching-in-many-countries-while-protestantism-has-gained-in-some/) Pew Research Center has surveyed. ### Catholicism in U.S. loses more people than it gains from ‘religious switching’ *Ratio of U.S. adults who have left to those who have joined each religious group* | Group | Left | Joined | | --- | --- | --- | | Christian | 6.0 | 1.0 | | Protestant | 1.8 | 1.0 | | Catholic | 8.4 | 1.0 | | Religiously unaffiliated | 1.0 | 5.9 | Note: Based on self-reported childhood religion and present religion among U.S. adults. Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. **How we measure religious switching** Recent media stories have reported a [revival in U.S. Catholicism](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/catholic-conversions-rising-inside-the-catholic-churchs-quiet-revival-60-minutes/), and some dioceses say they have seen [increased numbers of converts](https://www.ncregister.com/news/catholic-converts-surge-us) this year. Our data measures religious switching nationally and among Catholics over the course of their lifetimes. We do not ask people whether they have entered or left Catholicism (or any other religion) in the past year. Rather, we ask people about their current religion, then separately ask them about the religion in which they were raised. We compare responses to these two questions to determine how many people still identify with the religious group in which they were raised and how many have switched affiliations between childhood and today. In prior work, we’ve found that most religious switchers made this change during childhood or young adulthood. Most religious switchers say they [did so before age 30](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/12/15/why-do-some-americans-leave-their-religion-while-others-stay/), including converts both to and from Catholicism. **About two-thirds of Catholic converts come from a different Christian tradition.** Around six-in-ten (59%) say they were raised Protestant, while an additional 9% were raised in another Christian tradition, such as Orthodox Christianity or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Around one-in-five converts to Catholicism (22%) did not have a religious affiliation as a child. ### Most converts to Catholicism were raised in another Christian tradition *% of U.S. Catholic converts who say they were raised …* | Religion | Percent | | --- | --- | | Christian (Protestant) | 59 | | Christian (other) | 9 | | Other religion (not Christian) | 4 | | No religion | 22 | | No answer | 6 | Note: “Catholic converts” are people who say they are Catholic when asked about their present religion, but who say they were not raised Catholic. Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. **The most [common reason](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/16/profile-of-us-converts-to-catholicism/#why-converts-joined-the-church) Catholic converts cite for joining the church is a Catholic spouse or a desire to get married in the church.** Nearly half of converts to Catholicism mentioned this in response to an open-ended question that asked, “Just in your own words, what is the main reason you became a Catholic?” **Converts to Catholicism attend Mass and receive Communion at higher rates than lifelong Catholics, but they don’t pray or go to confession more often.** Some 38% of converts say they go to Mass at least weekly – significantly higher than the 28% of “cradle Catholics” who say the same. And 58% of converts say they receive Communion every time they go to Mass, compared with a much smaller share of Catholics who were raised in the faith (34%). There are no statistically significant differences in how often converts and lifelong Catholics say they pray or go to confession. ### Catholic converts more likely than lifelong adherents to attend Mass, receive Communion regularly *% of U.S. Catholics who …* | Population | Attend Mass at least weekly | Receive Communion every time they go to Mass | Pray daily | Go to confession at least once a year | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | All U.S. Catholics | 29 | 36 | 51 | 23 | | Catholic Converts* | 38 | 58 | 56 | 29 | | Cradle Catholics | 28 | 34 | 51 | 23 | * Estimates for receiving Communion and going to confession among converts are based on interviews with 148 converts to Catholicism, with an effective sample size of 94 and a 95% confidence level margin of error plus or minus 10.1 percentage points. This margin of error conservatively assumes a reported percentage of 50. “Catholic converts” are people who say they are Catholic when asked about their present religion, but who say they were not raised Catholic. “Cradle Catholics” are people who were raised Catholic and currently identify as Catholic. Source: Data on religious attendance and prayer is from the Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024; data on receiving Communion and going to confession is from a survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 3-9, 2025. **Catholic converts are more likely than those raised in the faith to be Republican. **Among [Catholic registered voters](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/16/profile-of-us-converts-to-catholicism/#politics-of-converts-to-catholicism), 60% of converts identified as Republican or leaned toward the Republican Party as of our 2023-24 study. A smaller share of lifelong Catholics (52%) said the same. ### Catholic converts are more likely than those raised in the faith to identify as or lean Republican *% of U.S. Catholic registered voters who are …* | Group | Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | | --- | --- | --- | | All Catholics | 53 | 43 | | Catholic Converts | 60 | 35 | | Cradle Catholics | 52 | 43 | Note: “Catholic converts” are people who say they are Catholic when asked about their present religion, but who say they were not raised Catholic.“Cradle Catholics” are people who were raised Catholic and currently identify as Catholic. Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. **Most Catholic converts in the U.S. are White, and 79% were born in the U.S.** Hispanics make up a smaller share of Catholic converts than of Catholics who were raised in the faith (20% vs. 37%). Similarly, immigrants make up a smaller share of Catholic converts than of lifelong Catholics. ### Converts to Catholicism are more likely than lifelong Catholics to be White, born in the U.S. *Based on U.S. Catholics* | Group | All Catholics | Catholic Converts | Cradle Catholics | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | White | 54 | 67 | 53 | | Hispanic | 36 | 20 | 37 | | Black | 2 | 3 | 2 | | Asian | 4 | 4 | 4 | | Other/Multiracial | 2 | 3 | 2 | | No answer | 1 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | Born in the U.S. | 29 | 18 | 30 | | Born outside the U.S. | 68 | 79 | 67 | | No answer/Unclear | 3 | 4 | 3 | * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding. “Catholic converts” are people who say they are Catholic when asked about their present religion, but who say they were not raised Catholic. “Cradle Catholics” are people who were raised Catholic and currently identify as Catholic. White, Black and Asian Americans include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. For the purposes of this analysis, the “Born outside the U.S.” category includes those born in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Although individuals from Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth, they are included with the “Born outside the U.S.” category because they are born into a Spanish-dominant culture and because, on many points, their attitudes, views and beliefs are much closer to those of Hispanics born outside the U.S. than to Hispanics born in the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia, even those who identify themselves as being of Puerto Rican origin. Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. **Vance is among a quarter of married U.S. Catholics who have a spouse from a different faith. **The vice president said in 2025 that he hopes his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will [someday convert](https://abc7ny.com/post/turning-point-usa-event-vice-president-jd-vance-says-he-hopes-hindu-wife-usha-chilukuri-converts-christianity/18130419/) from Hinduism to Catholicism. Nationwide, one-in-four married Catholics are [wed to a non-Catholic](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/#religion-in-u-s-families-today) – including 1% who, like Vance, are married to someone from a non-Christian religious background.