AOC blasts Republicans for religious hypocrisy, saying they would 'malign Jesus as a radical'

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has criticized those who use their religion to discriminate against others. The criticism comes as lawmakers have avoided questioning Amy Coney Barrett on her religion as Senators decided who should replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the next Supreme Court justice. Former Vice President Mike Pence has said that “her faith should not be considered.”

This hasn't sat well with AOC, who took to Twitter to claim that many Republicans would consider Jesus Christ a "radical." In a tweet, the lawmaker wrote: “Sick and tired of Republicans who co-opt faith as an excuse to advance bigotry and barbarism. Fact is, if today Christ himself came to the floor of Congress and repeated his teachings, many would malign him as a radical and eject him from the chamber. The only time religious freedom is invoked is in the name of bigotry and discrimination. I’m tired of it.”

Alongside the tweet, AOC shared a video from last year in which she claimed that "the only time religious freedom is invoked is in the name of bigotry and discrimination."

"There is nothing holy about rejecting medical care of people, no matter who they are, on the grounds of what their identity is," AOC said at the time. "There is nothing holy about turning someone away from a hospital. There’s nothing holy about rejecting a child from a family. There’s nothing holy about writing discrimination into the law, and I am tired of communities of faith being weaponized and being mischaracterized, because the only time religious freedom is invoked, it’s in the name of bigotry and discrimination. I’m tired of it."

"...I just have to get that out ahead of time, because it is deeply disturbing, not just what is happening here, but what this administration is advancing is the idea that religion and faith is about exclusion. It is not up to us. It is not up to us to deny medical care. It is up to us to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, to protect children, and to love all people as ourselves."

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar also criticized the lack of focus on Barrett's religious beliefs. Omar wrote, "Let’s be clear about this: if a Muslim woman was nominated to SCOTUS you would see Republicans lose their mind about her religious background. 'Sharia law' would be trending right now. Miss me with the pearl-clutching and all this righteous talk about religious freedom."

Pete Buttigieg expressed similar thoughts in a townhall last year. “For a party that associates itself with Christianity to say it is okay to suggest that God would smile on the division of families at the hands of federal agents, that God would condone putting children in cages, has lost all claim to ever use religious language,” he said at the time.