Rachel Maddow just announced she’s returned to the Catholic faith of her childhood.
The openly gay MSNBC host who’s spent her career advocating for abortion, promoting LGBTQ+ ideology, and attacking traditional religious values now wants back in the Church.
Her reason? Pope Leo XIV’s stance on immigration makes her feel welcome.
Catholic leaders are… skeptical.
“It Doesn’t Make Any Sense”
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League — the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization — didn’t sugarcoat his reaction.
“I welcome anybody into the faith. I’d like to know more about her reasoning, though. It seems a bit shallow from what I’ve learned.”
Donohue has history with Maddow. He’s debated her on MSNBC for years on topics where she’s spent her career contradicting Catholic teaching: abortion, marriage, sexuality.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he said, noting that her political and social positions are “wildly out of step” with Catholic doctrine.
The Church hasn’t changed its teachings on these issues. Maddow hasn’t changed her positions. So what exactly has changed?
The Immigration Excuse
Maddow’s explanation for her return was revealing — and not in the way she intended.
She told a live audience that Pope Leo XIV’s election played a large role, joking that the timing appeared to have been “grown in a lab to radicalize American Catholics” against Trump’s immigration policies.
So her return to Catholicism is about… opposing Trump on immigration?
Donohue found this confusing. While the Church holds liberal views on immigration, he noted that the stance between Pope Leo and Pope Francis hasn’t actually changed that much.
“If her decision is merely driven by ‘political contemporary thought’ and not theology, then it just seems to me that’s a fairly shallow way to approach this kind of conversion.”
Using the Church as a vehicle for political opposition isn’t faith. It’s activism wearing religious clothing.
The Doctrines She Still Rejects
Here’s what Maddow hasn’t addressed.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman. Maddow is openly gay and married to her female partner.
The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is a grave moral evil. Maddow has spent years advocating for abortion access.
The Catholic Church teaches that sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage is sinful. Maddow has championed LGBTQ+ causes as moral goods.
Has she changed her positions on any of these issues? Has she expressed willingness to align her life with Church teaching? Has she indicated any theological development whatsoever?
No. She likes the Pope’s immigration stance. That’s apparently enough.
What Actual Conversion Looks Like
Genuine return to faith involves more than finding a political ally in religious leadership.
It involves examining your life against the teachings of the Church. It involves repentance where your actions have contradicted those teachings. It involves a commitment to live differently going forward.
Maddow hasn’t indicated any of this. She’s indicated that she likes having Catholic credentials to deploy against Trump’s immigration policies.
That’s not conversion. That’s convenience.
CatholicVote’s Gracious — But Pointed — Response
Kelsey Reinhardt, president of CatholicVote, took a more welcoming approach:
“It’s encouraging to see Maddow return to the Catholic Church, even more so as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord at Christmas.”
But note the careful phrasing that followed:
“We welcome her and willingly offer heartfelt prayers that the Lord will guide her to live and love the truth and beauty of the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Translation: Welcome, Rachel. Now let’s see if you actually embrace what the Church teaches — not just the parts politically convenient for MSNBC.
Reinhardt added: “There is no point chastising her for views she has expressed in the past; we have only to hope for a better future.”
The emphasis on “future” is telling. Past positions are past positions. But if Maddow continues advocating for abortion and LGBTQ+ ideology while claiming Catholic identity, that’s a different conversation.
The “Cafeteria Catholic” Problem
Maddow’s announcement embodies a phenomenon Catholics have wrestled with for decades: the “cafeteria Catholic” who picks and chooses which teachings to follow.
Like immigration? I’m Catholic.
Don’t like teachings on sexuality? Those are outdated.
Want to advocate for abortion? That’s just my personal conscience.
This approach treats Catholicism as a buffet rather than a coherent worldview. Take what you like, leave what you don’t, and still claim the identity.
The Church doesn’t work that way. Either the Magisterium has authority or it doesn’t. Either the teachings are binding or they’re suggestions. You can’t accept papal authority on immigration while rejecting it on marriage and life.
Well, you can. But that’s not Catholicism. That’s something else wearing Catholic clothing.
Donohue’s Key Observation
Donohue made an important point about the difference between individual clergy and Church doctrine.
“Prominent clergy members are in ‘open dissent’ regarding LGBTQ+ issues,” he acknowledged. But “their personal views do not change the official doctrine of the church even if they confuse a lot of Catholics.”
Some bishops and priests have embraced progressive positions. That doesn’t mean the Church has changed its teachings. It means some clergy are in dissent.
Maddow may find sympathetic priests who’ll welcome her without asking hard questions. She may find parishes that don’t emphasize the doctrines she rejects. She may craft a version of Catholicism that fits her existing beliefs.
But that’s not the same as returning to the faith. It’s returning to a custom version that doesn’t challenge anything.
The Real Question Nobody’s Asking
Here’s what matters: Will Rachel Maddow’s positions change?
Will she stop advocating for abortion? Will she acknowledge Church teaching on marriage and sexuality? Will she use her massive platform to promote Catholic social teaching — all of it, not just immigration?
Or will she continue exactly as before, just with “Catholic” now attached to her identity?
The answer will tell us whether this is genuine conversion or political theater.
“We Are Waiting to See the Fruits”
Both Donohue and Reinhardt used similar language: They’re waiting to see the results of Maddow’s claimed conversion.
“Deferring expectations,” as the Daily Caller put it.
That’s charitable. It’s also realistic. Words are easy. Change is hard.
Maddow has spent decades building a career on positions incompatible with Catholic teaching. If she’s genuinely returned to the faith, we’ll see evidence. Changed positions. Different advocacy. Public acknowledgment of where she was wrong.
If she continues exactly as before — abortion advocacy, LGBTQ+ promotion, using her Catholic identity only to attack conservative immigration policies — then we’ll know what this “conversion” actually was.
A political prop. Nothing more.
The Church Will Still Be There
The good news for Maddow — and for anyone genuinely seeking faith — is that the Church doesn’t close doors.
Conversion is possible at any stage of life. Past sins can be forgiven. Past positions can be renounced. The prodigal son was welcomed home.
But the prodigal son actually came home. He didn’t stand outside the house, reject most of the family rules, and demand to be called a son anyway.
Rachel Maddow says she’s Catholic again. Catholic leaders are cautiously welcoming her while asking the obvious questions.
Time will tell whether this is a genuine return or just another way to attack Trump on television.
Based on her explanation so far, the smart money is on the latter.