Spiritual Seekers Turning to AI for Advice
Throughout life, people encounter major events that can prompt a need for spiritual support. When spiritual questions arise outside of traditional sources of support, some people are turning to artificial intelligence to find answers to the questions keeping them awake.
Eleven percent of AI users have sought spiritual guidance from artificial intelligence, according to a recent NPR/Ipsos poll of 1,011 US adults. The poll reported users were also using AI to study religious scripture or generate prayers.
AI Explains Bible Passages
Rudy Vazquez told NPR that AI helped him when he had questions about the Bible after he struggled to get satisfactory answers from religious leaders. So, Vazquez asked AI to explain the fifth chapter of Isaiah, which addresses moral hypocrisy. AI’s response helped Vazquez interpret the passage as a lesson about the choices people make between right and wrong.
Provides Emotional Support
For others, AI offers emotional support. When Kripa Vaidyanathan’s 27-year-old niece died in an Alaska car crash in 2024, her family in India told the AP they questioned why this tragedy happened to them when they had such “immense faith in God.”
Vaidyanathan, a yoga instructor, helped her grieving sister connect with a high-profile guru who she hoped would help. However, Vaidyanathan felt his response was not helpful to her grieving sister. After that experience, the family began seeking answers from AI. “It was a lot easier trying to get answers and peace of mind because ChatGPT is not judging you,” Vaidyanathan said. “We’ve found a compassionate guru now, but even he only has limited time. AI is accessible anytime.”
According to Nature, AI tools are emerging across a number of religious traditions. In Jewish contexts, tools drawing on Talmudic or Kabbalistic material can provide commentary or ethical guidance, with Binah AI one such example.
Christian-focused tools including Thejesusai offer personalized responses from longstanding Christian and mystical writings. They may also suggest prayers or provide guidance for meditative reading. Tools such as Shaykh.ai cater to Muslim users and can offer brief reflections and direct users toward relevant writings. Some platforms position themselves as resources for learning or digital spiritual companions.
Will AI Replace Clergy?
The question remains: How do clergy fit into this picture? What is their role as AI becomes more intertwined with spiritual life?
In a blog from The Times of Israel, Rabbi Ben Newman urges rabbis to take advantage of AI tools for organizing and structuring their work so they have more time to meet with congregants and provide care for them.
Newman disclosed that he used AI to write the blog post and to assist him with his High Holidays sermons. The High Holy Day season can be a demanding time for congregational rabbis, who may balance sermons with services, conversations, hospital visits, funerals, and other responsibilities.
“A congregant called me this week to tell me that his wife had been placed on hospice,” Newman writes. “That is rabbinic work too. A rabbi should have time to call back. To sit with the family. To show up without watching the clock because three sermons still need to be finished.” To Newman, AI is not replacing him — it is helping him enhance his role as a spiritual guide.
As AI moves forward and becomes more sophisticated, it may help humanity in a variety of ways. One possible benefit is that AI may give clergy more time for human connection and care, which is an important part of their work.
