Why people are talking about the cover of JD Vance’s upcoming book

An upcoming book by Vice President JD Vance is garnering attention not for its contents, but for its newly released cover.

Vance and publisher Harper (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) introduced the religion-centered memoir “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” on March 31, announcing that it would be released in June.

Vance described the book as a look back on his "personal journey and how I found my way back to faith," specifically his conversion to Catholicism after a protestant upbringing and a stint as an atheist.

"Vance reflects on how he regained his faith and recounts his conversion to Catholicism. In doing so, he reveals how his faith guides his work in public life, and how it informs his vision for the future," Harper's logline for the memoir said.

But eagle-eyed social media sleuths have pointed out one possible problem - the picturesque place of worship nestled in the green hills of Virginia featured on the cover appears to show a United Methodist church, not a Catholic one.

What's the cover photo on 'Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith'?

The image on the cover depicts the United Methodist Mount Zion Church, located in Elk Creek, Virginia, USA TODAY confirmed via Google Maps and metadata from matching images of the church by the same photographer. Vance also invoked his family's Appalachian roots in his previous memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," which climbed the New York Times Best Sellers list after it was published in 2016.

The discrepancy was first pointed out by Joe Perticone, writing for The Bulwark.

"While Vance’s way back to faith led him to embrace Catholicism specifically, the church on his book is not a Catholic one," Perticone wrote on March 31. "Vance’s choice of photo struck me as odd, given that the vice president has been outspoken about his Catholic faith."

Perticone likewise noted that the idealistic image of the "photogenic" church, taken by local photographer Tim Pennington, is a popular subject of stock images. Several similar photos of the same church can be found on the stock photo site Getty Images.

In a comment on Dec. 26, 2020, post on Instagram, Pennington confirmed the name and location of similar images of the church, identifying it as Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Comers Rock, a recreational area in Elk Creek. 

Publisher explains photo choice

Tina Andreadis, a spokesperson for HarperCollins, told USA TODAY in an email on March 3 that the image was chosen because it depicts the area in which Vance spent his childhood.

"The church comes from the part of the country where Vice President Vance grew up," she said. "He was raised in Protestant and evangelical churches;  he talks about Christianity in an ecumenical sense throughout the book."

A representative for Vance did not respond to USA TODAY'S request for comment. USA TODAY also reached out to Tim Pennington.

JD Vance and the Catholic church

Vance's Catholicism has been a frequent topic of discussion during his tenure as vice president.

Vance told The American Conservative in 2019 that he was raised Christian without a strong attachment to any denomination and experienced periods of identifying with Evangelicalism and his father's Pentecostal church before calling himself an atheist in college.

Vance officially converted to Catholicism in 2019 and has received criticism from both Pope Francisand Pope Leo XIV on multiple occasions since joining the Trump administration. Pope Francis denounced the administration's immigration policies, which he called a "disgrace," even directly refuting Vance's interpretations of Catholic principles. Pope Leo has been vocal about his anti-war views since the Iran War began in February.

Vance also talked about his wife's religion at a Turning Point USA event in October 2025, during which he said he hoped Usha Vance would abandon her Hindu faith for Christianity.

"Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, honestly, I do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way," he said. "But if she doesn't, then God says everybody has free will and so that doesn't cause a problem for me."

"Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” is set to release on June 16, 2026.