In the long American story of faith and power, JD Vance stands at an unusual crossroads — a convert whose spiritual journey from evangelical roots through atheism to Catholicism now shapes his political ambitions as much as any policy position. As he positions himself for a 2028 presidential run, the theological tensions within his own biography threaten to unsettle the very coalition he is trying to build, raising a question that has shadowed religious politicians throughout history: whether faith is the source of conviction or merely its costume.