Pam Bondi Supports Catholics in Senate Hearing — But Does She Follow the Faith?
Pam Bondi said she will look into whether the FBI has been unfairly targeting Catholic churches and people.
Published Jan. 15 2025, 4:24 p.m. ET
During her confirmation hearing for the United States attorney general position, Pam Bondi faced intense questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee on various topics.
At one point, the Florida native vowed to prioritize an investigation into the FBI's alleged discriminatory targeting of Catholic parishes if confirmed, making it a central focus of her tenure as attorney general.
Given this, many watching the hearing have been wondering: Is Pam Bondi a practicing Catholic? Here's everything you need to know about her beliefs.
So, is Pam Bondi a practicing Catholic?
Pam Bondi has largely kept her personal beliefs private throughout her life. While it's unclear whether she's Catholic, Pam Bondi does have connections to the controversial Church of Scientology.
During her tenure as Florida's first female attorney general, Pam accepted plenty of campaign donations from Scientologists and attended several fundraisers hosted by prominent and wealthy members of the church.
In fact, the Tampa Bay Times reported that a 2014 fundraiser for her reelection campaign in Clearwater, Fla., was organized by six prominent Scientologists. Pam's campaign spokeswoman, Christina Johnson, confirmed that the Republican was aware of their involvement in the event.
According to Christina, Pam first engaged with Scientologists in 2010 when she and other elected officials toured some of the church's facilities in Clearwater. During this visit, Pam addressed a group of Scientologists about human trafficking and anti-drug efforts.
As for the 2014 fundraiser, Christina explained that it was simply a case of "like-minded folks sharing the same goals," including the protection of children from drugs and human trafficking.
Pam's connections to Scientology have sparked considerable controversy, but she has defended them by saying that the church shares her goal of combating human trafficking.
In 2016, her then spokeswoman, Kylie Mason, told the Tampa Bay Times that Bondi was "open to talking to any organization about what our office is doing to combat" human trafficking and drug abuse and that she was eager to educate groups on how they could contribute to those efforts.