Vance's Antichrist comments are a 'common belief', his friend tells BBC

Recent remarks by US Vice-President JD Vance about the Antichrist and "the end times" are a "very, very common belief", one of his friends says.

Vance recently mused on his religious views while responding to a question on a Christian podcast. He said he would "not [be] shocked if the Antichrist was walking among us" and speculated on whether the end of the world was nigh.

His friend Rod Dreher, a conservative writer, rejected any suggestion that the comments would harm the vice-president. He told the BBC's Today programme: "Most Americans who are inclined to vote Republican already believe this stuff."

In his podcast comments, Vance also clarified that such thoughts did not preoccupy him.

In Christianity, the "end times" phrase refers to theories about what will happen at the end of the world. Many churches believe God has a divine plan for the end of everything.

Meanwhile, the Antichrist is seen as the enemy of God who appears during the final phase of the world's existence and takes it over.

Vance, who became a Catholic as an adult, reflected on these topics during a recent podcast discussion with Bryce Crawford, a US Christian podcaster.

"Do I think that we're in the end times? I don't know," he said in response to a Crawford question on the subject. "And I think that it's probably bad for me spiritually to focus too much on it, because there are, like, things you gotta do.