Does an LLM hear your prayers?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.“Compassion,” the preacher proclaimed, is “mercy in action,” adding: “I can also show you one small rhetorical tweak that guarantees even your densest congregant won’t miss the point.”As it happens, the preacher is an online comedian named Louisa Melcher, and the sermon is one of her skits. But the comedy is less funny when one realizes that artificial intelligence is already slipping into pastoral work.“AI is a remarkable tool for synthesizing 2,000 years worth of Catholic thought and tradition,” says the Rev.

Andrew Pinsent, who teaches at the Athenaeum of Ohio, a Catholic seminary, and has co-written a book on AI and the church. Chatbots, he suggests, can find within seconds what such church authorities as Thomas Aquinas wrote about a particular passage in scripture.This may explain why 3 out of 4 senior Protestant pastors in America agree that “God can work through AI,” according to a 2024 Barna poll.

While only 1 in 10 say they are comfortable using AI to write sermons, 2 in 5 see its merits for preparation and research. The lure is strong enough that Pope Leo XIV recently warned Catholic priests against using it.Many Christians seem to be engaging with apps that purport to preach the faith.

AI chatbots such as Text With Jesus offer round-the-clock spiritual guidance and simulated conversations with anyone from Jesus to the apostles—and even Satan, with a premium subscription. The popular Catholic prayer app Hallow adds some celebrity glamour with guided prayers from the actors including Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie, who played Jesus in the TV series “The Chosen.”App developers and some pastors see these platforms as a way for Christianity to stay relevant among younger