PHILADELPHIA (BP) – Most Americans see no moral or spiritual benefit in artificial intelligence (AI), the American Bible Society (ABS) said May 9, in its latest 2024 Bible teaching announcement. He said he had not.
Most people, 68%, do not believe that AI can be used to enhance their spiritual practices and, in turn, promote their mental health. 58% do not believe technology can aid in moral reasoning, and 57% do not believe that AI can produce a sermon as well-written as a pastor’s original work.
According to the researchers, 37% of respondents even have an unfavorable view of pastors who use AI to prepare sermons.
Bible-devoted Christians, including the digitally savvy Generation Z, expressed even more pessimism about technology.
More than half of respondents (51%) believe that the use of AI will increase unemployment, with Gen Z and Boomers similarly expressing this belief.
“Americans have more fear than hope about artificial intelligence, but our research shows “It also shows that there is a great deal of uncertainty,” he said of the findings. “People don’t know how AI will change culture, but they feel some anxiety about it. And how do people of faith feel? Similarly uncertain and anxious. But I think it’s more than that.”
The researchers say the relationship between AI and Christianity, citing criticisms given by Carey Newhoff and Kenny Jahn in their book “The Ultimate Guide to AI, Pastors, and Churches,” published in December 2023. He said the possibility of a link to faith needed to be more thoroughly investigated.
“The question for church leaders is not whether the church will embrace AI, but how the church will embrace AI,” Nieuhoff and Jahn wrote. “History teaches us that ignoring technological revolutions is probably not the wisest choice, and AI is no exception. Leaders who ignore the future will have a harder time evangelizing in the future.
“But it is also difficult to fully embrace AI without thinking deeply about its theological, ethical, and existential issues.”
The findings are included in Chapter 2, “Faith and Technology,” of The State of the Bible 2024.
In addition to AI, this chapter focuses on how online church services are being embraced and how this impacts Christians.
This chapter references the 2020 LifeWay Research, which showed that 97% of U.S. churches worship online. At the time, 67% were live streaming, and others provided access to the video for later viewing.
According to ABS, in-person worship is making a comeback after the pandemic, with 75% of respondents attending primarily in-person worship in 2023, 14% primarily attending online worship, and 12% Both formats are used equally. This finding contrasts with 2020, when 38% worshiped primarily in-person, 45% primarily online, and 17% used both formats equally.
Gens X and Z are more likely to attend in person, while Millennials and baby boomers and older are choosing to worship online more often. Still, the majority of all age groups primarily attend worship services in person, including 82 percent of Gen X, 78 percent of Gen Z, 71 percent of Millennials, and 70 percent of baby boomers and older.
Researchers also found that in-person worship was more popular among people who attend religious services weekly and among white Americans.
Mirroring the findings of the 2023 study, researchers said online worshipers are more devoted to the Bible than those who attend worship services in person. Researchers found that the majority of online worshipers (81%) are more likely to read the Bible on their own, compared to about two-thirds of those who primarily worship in-person.
“State of the Bible” is based on a nationally representative survey on ABS conducted by NORC (formerly the National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago using the AmeriSpeak panel. The findings are based on 2,506 online interviews conducted in January 2024 with adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
ABS will release seven additional chapters from June to December, providing insight on several topics, including philanthropy, being a good neighbor, and coping with loneliness.
Access the first two chapters of the report here.
(Editor’s note – Diana Chandler is a senior writer at Baptist Press. )
