Summary4 min read

Conspirituality — Bonus Sample: Why Does JD Vance Think Catholic Social Teaching is Cool?

Host: Matthew Remski
Date: June 29, 2026
Episode Theme:
A critical analysis of JD Vance's appropriation of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) in his memoir Communion, exploring both its progressive rhetoric and historical contradictions, along with its potential implications for U.S. politics.

Episode Overview

Matthew Remski delivers an incisive audio essay dissecting JD Vance’s fascination with Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Remski examines how Vance weaves CST’s “progressive sounding” values into his worldview, highlighting Vance’s rhetorical pivot between social justice language and reactionary politics. This reflection aims to understand the allure and potential misuse of CST, especially in the service of right-wing agendas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Vance’s Framing of Catholic Social Teaching (00:03–02:50)

Vance’s Religious Rhetoric:
Remski sets the stage by addressing listener fatigue with Vance but stresses the importance of parsing out how Vance utilizes CST’s progressive rhetoric as a political tool, especially given his rising influence:

“I do think it's worth getting super clear on how the likely 48th president is going to be using some very progressive sounding religious rhetoric while he pursues the techno fascist religious fantasy that Peter Thiel has launched him on.” (Matthew Remski, 01:00)
CST as a “Superior Alternative”:
Vance describes CST as a “fully integrated theory of a good human life,” positioning it above both secular liberalism and libertarianism. He emphasizes duties as opposed to individualistic choices—framing Christian commitments through family, work, and citizenship roles.

2. The Roots and Pillars of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) (01:45–03:30)

Historical Anchor:
Remski highlights the foundational document:

“That progressive sounding rhetoric will be his gloss on Catholic social teaching, which was innovated by the papacy of Leo XIII...following on the publication of his encyclical Rerum Novarum.” (Matthew Remski, 01:10)
Subsidiarity and Family Wage:
Vance’s enthusiasm for ‘subsidiarity’—the interdependence of family, church, and nation—is outlined. He praises a 1950s-esque “family wage” and supports labor unions.
Vance: “It's difficult for a good family man, as he puts it, to get by without a living wage and stable communal support.”
Material Well-Being and Hypocrisy on Abortion:
Vance acknowledges that true commitment to “protecting the unborn” requires concern for socioeconomic conditions post-birth:

“If Christians are committed to protecting the unborn, they have to allow that it's also sinful to depress that baby's chance of living a good life afterward by ignoring their material and economic well being.” (Matthew Remski paraphrasing Vance, 02:30)

3. The Core Contradiction of CST in Practice (03:00–04:00)

Surface-level Progressivism vs. Structural Conservatism:
Though Vance uses CST to champion workers’ rights and critique “the tyranny of consumption,” Remski cautions that scrutiny reveals a historical tension:

“If you scratch the surface of Catholic social teaching, logic and history, you'll find a core contradiction that I believe earnest Catholics have tried to manage for about 130 years and that ghouls like Vance have always managed to game.” (Matthew Remski, 03:30)
Analytical Fork in the Road:
Remski poses a critical question foundational to critiques of capitalism:

“Are the abuses of this system attributable to the moral failings of its actors? Or are they the natural outcome of its structural logic?” (Matthew Remski, 03:45)

4. Historical Context: Leo XIII’s Response to Capitalism’s Abuses (04:00–04:28)

Moral Critique of Capitalism:
“...with his church reeling from political challenges...and with all of Europe trembling with socialist revolt, Leo XIII issued an impassioned moral critique of capitalism.” (Matthew Remski, 04:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Vance’s Rhetoric:
“Very progressive sounding religious rhetoric while he pursues the techno fascist religious fantasy that Peter Thiel has launched him on.” (01:00)
On CST’s conceptual tensions:
“You'll find a core contradiction that I believe earnest Catholics have tried to manage for about 130 years and that ghouls like Vance have always managed to game.” (03:30)
On the critical divide in analyzing capitalism:
“Are the abuses of this system attributable to the moral failings of its actors? Or are they the natural outcome of its structural logic?” (03:45)
On Vance’s stance on abortion and post-natal welfare:
“If Christians are committed to protecting the unborn, they have to allow that it's also sinful to depress that baby's chance of living a good life afterward by ignoring their material and economic well being.” (02:30)

Important Timestamps

00:03 — Episode introduction and overview of Conspirituality’s mission.
01:00 — Discussion of Vance’s use of progressive religious rhetoric for conservative aims.
01:10 — Introduction of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum as the foundation of CST.
02:30 — Vance’s critique of “pro-life” hypocrisy regarding postnatal economic support.
03:30 — Exposure of contradictions within CST and its historical “gaming.”
03:45 — The critical question: moral failings vs. structural outcomes in capitalism.
04:20 — Leo XIII’s historical context and moral critique of capitalism.

Tone and Style

Matthew Remski’s delivery is analytical, critical, and slightly sardonic, balancing accessible explanations of dense theological and political material with pointed critique. The language is direct, combining historical context with contemporary political analysis.

Summary

This Conspirituality bonus episode sample unpacks how JD Vance appropriates Catholic Social Teaching to create a veneer of progressive ethics while promoting reactionary, techno-fascist politics. Using Vance's memoir as a case study, Remski reminds listeners to be cautious of attractive language that may mask deeper contradictions—particularly the historical tension in CST between moral critique and structural change. This analysis is crucial to understanding how religious rhetoric can be wielded to support both liberatory and authoritarian agendas.

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Transcript4 lines

[00:04]
A
Hello Patreon subscribers. I'm Matthew Remsky and this is Conspirituality, where we investigate the roots and intersections of conspiracy theories and spiritual influence to uncover cults, pseudoscience and authoritarian extremism. You can follow myself, Derek and Julian on bluesky. The podcast is on Instagram and threads under its own handle. You can find me personally on YouTube and TikTok as antifascist dad, all one word and my own Instagram handle is matthewremsky. You can catch me there. I post a reel every day. This is a little audio essay called why does J.D. vance think Catholic Social Teaching is Cool? And it picks up on a thread that's dangling off of our main feed review of J.D. vance's Communion, his new memoir. The subtitle is Finding My Way Back to Faith, so if you haven't listened to that, it might be a good place to start. And for those of you who are already ill of Vance, I feel your pain. But I do think it's worth getting super clear on how the likely 48th president is going to be using some very progressive sounding religious rhetoric while he pursues the techno fascist religious fantasy that Peter Thiel has launched him on. That progressive sounding rhetoric will be his gloss on Catholic social teaching, which was innovated by the papacy of Leo XIII back in the late 19th century, following on the publication of his encyclical Rerum Novarum, which Vance believes paints such a nuanced picture of human nature that it seems, in his words, to be divinely inspired. Now, in Communion, Vance waxes poetic about Catholic social teaching, calling it a fully integrated theory of a good human life that offers a superior alternative to both secular liberalism and libertarianism. He loves that Catholic social teaching views Christian commitments not as individualistic choices, but as duties that raid mediate through specific roles as spouses, parents, workers and citizens. Now, in reading Rerum Novarum, which was published in 1891, Vance especially loves the concept of subsidiarity, or the interdependence of family, community, church and nation. And he says that a functional political system must protect all spheres because it's difficult for a good family man, as he puts it, to get by without a living wage and stable communal support. So he boosts the notion of a family wage or enough income for a single breadwinner to support a family, I guess 1950s style. And he supports the rights of workers to form labor unions. He even talks about valuing the dignity of workers over finance, accumulation and what he calls the tyranny of consumption, while rejecting the obsession with maximizing gdp, and it even kind of folds into his stance on abortion by acknowledging an age old hypocrisy that reproductive rights activists have pointed out for many, many years. He writes that if Christians are committed to protecting the unborn, they have to allow that it's also sinful to depress that baby's chance of living a good life afterward by ignoring their material and economic well being. So it all sounds surprisingly reasonable. It sounds like Vance might even have a progressive critique of capitalism going on here. However, if you scratch the surface of Catholic social teaching, logic and history, you'll find a core contradiction that I believe earnest Catholics have tried to manage for about 130 years and that ghouls like Vance have always managed to game. Now, off the top, I'm just going to name the analytical fork in the road that any analyst or critic of capitalism faces. Are the abuses of this system attributable to the moral failings of its actors? Or are they the natural outcome of its structural logic? In facing this fork in the road, with his church reeling from political challenges to the papal lands, and with all of Europe trembling with socialist revolt, Leo XIII issued an impassioned moral critique of
[04:29]
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capitalism You've been listening to a Conspirituality Bonus Episode Sample. To continue listening, please head over to patreon.com conspirituality where you can access all of our main feed episodes ad free, as well as four years of bonus content that we've been producing. You can also subscribe to our bonus episodes via Apple subscriptions. As independent media creators, we really appreciate your support.
[05:03]
C
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[05:28]
D
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