Christians Are Turning to Artificial Intelligence for Spiritual Guidance, Survey Finds

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Scripture teaches Christians to seek God’s Word for wisdom and truth, but a new survey shows many believers would trust artificial intelligence for answers, too.

The new research from Barna Group, in partnership with Gloo, found that 54 percent of practicing Christians say they would completely or somewhat trust AI’s advice for “having a sense of meaning or purpose in life,” while 48 percent would trust it for advice on growing spiritually.

Practicing Christians express a high level of trust in AI on other issues, too.

More than six in 10 (62 percent) of practicing Christians say they would trust AI with advice on achieving financial stability, while just over half say they would trust it for advice on mental and physical wellbeing (56 percent), feeling happy and content with life (56 percent), understanding and expressing one’s true self (54 percent) and building meaningful relationships with others (53 percent).

“What we’re seeing is that Christians are genuinely open to AI as a support for the domains that matter most to them – wellbeing, purpose, even spiritual growth,” said Daniel Copeland, Barna’s vice president of research. “That level of openness is higher than we might have expected, and it holds across multiple areas of flourishing.”

But Christians have fears about AI, too.

An overwhelming majority (83 percent) of practicing Christians say they’re concerned about AI misrepresenting Scripture, while 72 percent say they’re concerned about it beginning to act as a replacement for God. A large majority (73 percent) are also concerned about people losing their religion due to AI.

About one-third of practicing Christians (34 percent) believe spiritual advice from AI is just as trustworthy as advice from a pastor – a percentage that is higher than that of the general population (30 percent). Among Gen Z, nearly two in five (39 percent) agree, while among Millennials, the figure climbs even higher to 44 percent.

“This is where the data gets genuinely confounding,” Copeland said. “Christians say they trust AI with spiritual growth, and a meaningful share say its spiritual guidance is as trustworthy as a pastor’s – yet large majorities are simultaneously concerned about AI misinterpreting Scripture, replacing God, or undermining the role of spiritual leaders. The use case and the underlying fear are both present, and they’re pointing in different directions.”

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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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