Matthew McConaughey's greeting with Pope Leo XIV in Italy earlier this month has sparked political ambitions for the actor.McConaughey spoke to USA Today about his conversation with the pope and shared whether his conversation with the religious figure swayed his stance on taking political office.McConaughey describes himself as politically centrist, and he considered running for Texas governor in 2021.He has also advocated for bipartisan gun-safety measures following the 2022 Uvalde school shooting.MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY'S PIECE OF RELATIONSHIP ADVICE THAT KEEPS HIS MARRIAGE TO CAMILA ALVES STRONGMatthew McConaughey met with Pope Leo XIV in Italy earlier this month.
(Getty Images)"Look, I’m going to use this word ‘religion,’ even though some people are going to tune out when they hear that word," McConaughey told the outlet."Life is essentially a religious experience.
There’s a lot of things we can learn about living life – how to treat others and how to treat ourselves – through religious texts and teachings.Even though I agree with the separation of church and state, the values of those should bleed down into the values of any political system."JD VANCE TELLS POPE LEO XIV TO 'STICK TO MATTERS OF MORALITY' AND STAY OUT OF US PUBLIC POLICYHe added, "There’s still a constitution out there to be written that all religions could agree on.
There's so much commonality.It’s a constitution that I’m excited about seeing – I don't know, maybe even adding to or working on.
That would be a great thing to share."Earlier in the interview, McConaughey told USA Today that he didn't prepare for the conversation, but knew some topics he wanted to discuss with the religious figure.Pope Leo XIV is seen arriving at St.Peter's Basilica for the first time after the cardinals ended the conclave in The Vatican on May 8, 2025.
(AFP via Getty Images)"That’s kind of like preparing a speech for winning an award that you don’t know you’re going to win yet.It’s a ...