Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is drawing attention after invoking God, faith and even Jesus’ teaching about the “faith of a mustard seed” while discussing progressive political organizing.

Speaking at the National Baptist Convention in Orlando, Florida, the New York Democrat described political developments over the past year as evidence of what she sees as God at work. She pointed specifically to organizing efforts in traditionally Republican states during a tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“I have been amazed watching how God works in the last one to two years,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She recalled traveling to places such as Idaho, Montana and Utah, despite political analysts questioning why progressive politicians would spend time in states where Republicans have historically held an advantage.

“I felt very called,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She then pointed to Utah, where she and other progressives had encouraged supporters to organize even when there appeared to be little immediate chance of political success.

“We must have the faith of a mustard seed. We must organize anyway. We must build anyway,” she recalled telling supporters.

Ocasio-Cortez connected that organizing to the legal battle over Utah’s congressional map, describing the eventual court ruling as a “miracle.” A Utah judge ruled in 2025 that the state’s congressional map had to be redrawn after finding that lawmakers had improperly overridden a voter-approved redistricting reform. The ruling was the result of litigation over the state’s redistricting process, rather than the political organizing itself.

“One year later, out of nowhere, a judge strikes down Utah’s map, and they are ordered to redraw,” Ocasio-Cortez said, arguing that earlier organizing meant activists were prepared when the political landscape changed.

Her comments come as other Democratic politicians have increasingly spoken about their political views through the lens of faith.

James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas and a Presbyterian seminarian, has also attracted attention for comments about Christianity. In a 2023 sermon that resurfaced this year, Talarico said, “God is not a Christian” while arguing that God transcends human religious categories.

“God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb,” Talarico said.

For Ocasio-Cortez, the National Baptist Convention appearance offered another example of a Democratic politician using explicitly Christian language to describe political activism. Her remarks also touch on a broader question Christians have long debated across the political spectrum: how biblical faith should relate to political causes and whether political victories should be interpreted as evidence of God’s favor.