US Vice President JD Vance on Friday defended his comments about his wife Usha’s Hindu faith, clarifying that she is “not a Christian and has no plans to convert,” while pushing back against criticism that he had disrespected her religion.

In a post on X, Vance called the backlash “disgusting” and accused his critics of “anti-Christian bigotry.” “What a disgusting comment, and it’s hardly been the only one along these lines,” he wrote, responding to social media users who accused him of throwing his wife’s faith “under the bus.”

The controversy began after Vance’s remarks at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, where he was asked whether he hoped his wife would “come to Christ.” Vance replied that while his wife, who was raised Hindu, often joins him and their children at church, faith remained a personal matter.

“Most Sundays she will come with me to church. Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that,” Vance said. “But if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me. That’s something you work out with your friends, with your family, with the person that you love.”

Following an online uproar over the comments, Vance took to social media to elaborate. “She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage, or any interfaith relationship, I hope she may one day see things as I do,” he wrote. “Regardless, I’ll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she’s my wife.”

The Vice President defended his decision to address the question publicly, saying he could not avoid questions about his family. “I’m a public figure, and people are curious, and I wasn’t going to avoid the question,” he said.

Vance also noted that his wife had played a key role in his own religious journey. “My wife, as I said at the TPUSA, is the most amazing blessing I have in my life. She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many years ago,” he said.

In his post, Vance condemned what he described as growing hostility toward Christians. “Posts like this wreak anti-Christian bigotry,” he wrote. “Yes, Christians have beliefs. And yes, those beliefs have many consequences, one of which is that we want to share them with other people. That is a completely normal thing, and anyone who’s telling you otherwise has an agenda.”

JD Vance and Usha Vance, who is of Indian origin, met at Yale Law School. The couple, married since 2014, have two children together.