Pastor Running for Senate Slams JD Vance Over 'Pathetic' Claim He Will 'Spit on Your Religion'

Kansas Senate hopeful and pastor Adam Hamilton has branded JD Vance's claim that he would 'insult your faith and spit on your religion' as 'pathetic', using a national TV interview to accuse the vice president of attacking a faith he 'knows nothing about'.

Hamilton, a United Methodist Church pastor and Democratic candidate, was responding on ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday to remarks Vance made at a Kansas rally last month. Speaking to host Jonathan Karl, he rejected the vice president's comments and questioned why a national figure was targeting a local minister's beliefs.

JD Vance's Criticism Meets a Direct Challenge

'He really went after you,' Karl told Hamilton as he introduced Vance's comments. The pastor agreed. 'He did.'

Karl reminded Hamilton that Vance had described his views as 'left wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion.' The interviewer also recalled the vice president's assertion that 'that is not Christianity.'

Hamilton, 62, rejected that characterisation, questioning how Vance could judge a faith he knew nothing about.

'Well, I thought it was a sign of desperation. And I thought it was really sad, it was pathetic. 'He doesn't know me, doesn't know anything about my faith. He came in attacking—you know, when did we start attacking people's faith?'

The exchange focused on Vance's criticism of Hamilton as a Christian, alongside the allegation about donations. In his response, Hamilton directed attention to how he had lived and treated others, presenting those as the grounds on which his beliefs should be assessed.

The Ministry at the Centre of the JD Vance Dispute

Hamilton is running for Senate in Kansas as a Democrat after initially considering an independent candidacy. He serves a congregation with mixed political allegiances and has written dozens of religious books, according to the Daily Beast.

'I not only seek to be a follower of Jesus but to practice that in how I treat other people,' he told Karl. 'And I just would say, examine my life, examine the way I've tried to live, and then I want to see Mr. Vice President.

'Let's compare. Let's compare theology, let's compare our faith and the impact we're having on the world. And I just—I don't even want to compare myself to him—I just want to say I'm doing the best I can as a follower of Jesus Christ every day.'

He also questioned the appropriateness of a vice president travelling to Kansas to challenge the faith of a minister leading a large congregation.

'I thought it was a sad statement that the vice president of the United States would come here and attack the faith of the pastor of the largest church in the state of Kansas, the largest United Methodist church in the country.'

Catholicism in JD Vance's Own Words

Vance, 42, has drawn criticism over his own approach to Christianity, and he has been involved in disputes with the Pope.

At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast last year, the vice president acknowledged that he had not fully studied the Catechism. He presented his statements about Catholicism as expressions of deep belief, while cautioning listeners that he did not always know everything about the faith.

'I recognize very much that I am a baby Catholic... If you ever hear me pontificating about the Catholic faith, please recognize it comes from a place of deep belief, but it also comes from a place of not always knowing everything all the time.'

Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019, at the age of 35.