The faith of JD Vance, from hillbilly evangelical to (vice) presidential Catholic...

... and three brave women talk about their concern for crisis pregnancies

I admire those who patiently pray outside abortion clinics, despite “buffer zones”, harassment and prejudice. I spoke to three women to hear why they continue this work through the Lenten 40 Days for Life campaign. Far from the image of shouty, shaming protests, these women are motivated to help mothers and offer them support to keep their child. If you’re in doubt as to whether this is a worthwhile activity, read stories of women who have been supported through the Behereforme.org website.

I was asked to write about the faith of US vice-president JD Vance, a person who is fascinating and inspiring conservative Christians as much as he is disgusting those who have more liberal ways of thinking.

I try to be as neutral as possible when I write about US politics, which can be hard in a context that is so polarised - and in the UK where there is very little understanding of support for Trump. But I do believe the only way we will find a peaceful way through the culture wars is to understand the “best” of each side of the divide.

In the UK, there is also little understanding of more conservative points of view at all. As someone who has moved from left-wing and liberal to fairly conservative, I feel obliged to try to explain those perspectives, even when I don’t necessarily agree with them. I had a long debate on X with (seemingly, his profile isn’t verified) Stuart Hazeldine, who directed the movie The Shack. Intially, he seemed certain that followers of Christ cannot be conservative, but I hope I showed that isn’t true.

JD Vance in his high school yearbook, when he adopted the evangelical faith of his remarkable gran, Mawmaw. He went through an atheism phase and then converted to Catholicism.