New Study Reveals Pastor's Perspectives on AI in Ministry
Barna Group explores levels of comfort, concern, and opportunities for church leadership.
Last week Barna Group released a study of 278 U.S. Protestant senior pastors, exploring how pastors and churchgoers perceive and use AI in their ministries and personal lives.
If you have the time, I’d highly recommend setting aside a few minutes to look at the data, but here are some highlights:
88% of U.S. pastors are comfortable using AI in areas like graphic design, but only 12% are comfortable using AI for sermon writing, and half that number would use it for counselling their congregations.
89% of U.S. pastors feel AI will have at least some impact on relational quality; 1% feel it will have no impact, and the rest are not sure how AI will affect relationships.
57% of Gen Z Christians would like to hear from their pastor on using AI in personal communication, while 44% of Gen X and 36% of Christian Boomers want to hear from their pastor on “using AI wisely.” However, only 11-13% of Christians want to hear from their pastor on developing a theology of AI usage or using AI to grow their faith.
Only 14% of U.S. pastors feel that AI is an important topic to be teaching about.
It makes for fascinating reading, and in large part, the statistics correlate with my academic and anecdotal research over the last eighteen months. Allow me to share some personal reflections on the data:
Firstly, the study is by no means comprehensive. With so many cultural variables in the U.S. alone, such a limited number of participants will likely not represent the sentiments of the worldwide pastorate with complete accuracy. We just can’t know. I’d love to see Barna undertake a much larger study as a follow-up to this one in the future. However, we can only work with the data we have, and these results provide useful guidance.
Secondly, I’m pleased to see a broad recognition of the relational challenges that may arise in light of AI. If you’ve been following The Church and AI for a while now, you’ll know that I feel this is one of the primary threats to society, but also one of the greatest areas of opportunity for the Church in the coming years. However, I’m also incredibly humbled by the fact that our subscriber count has grown by 30% in the last few weeks, so if you’re new here, consider reading the following articles:
Thirdly, I feel there’s a little bit of confusion around learning about AI in the Church. There seems to be an appetite to learn about AI in some form, but little consensus about what people should be learning about. On a personal level, I’ve been somewhat overwhelmed by how eager people (in both the local church I lead and beyond) are to learn more about artificial intelligence and its interaction with the faith. The study shows that many believers want to use AI wisely, which extends to personal communication, particularly among Gen Z believers.
However, I’m concerned about the disinterest in developing a theology of AI usage, because sound theology shapes healthy practice. Furthermore, given the obvious desire to learn about the Church’s interaction with artificial intelligence, why are pastors so reluctant to discuss it?
That seems to be a problem.
It’s also one of the main reasons we are championing these sorts of discussions.
But what do you think? Last week I was inundated with emails responding to OpenAI’s new Sora technology, and I loved it. Let me know what you think by commenting below or emailing me directly. It’s a joy to hear from you, but please forgive me if I’m not able to reply to each email individually.
A General Update
For those who are interested, we are currently in the editing phase of my first book. The working title, perhaps unsurprisingly, is The Church and AI. What is surprising is that, so far, early feedback has been very positive! I’m hoping to be able to share more in the next month or so.
Thank you very much for your interest in the project; it’s an enormous encouragement to me in this strange in-between phase between writing the first draft and publishing. If you have any questions about the book, feel free to comment below or reply to this email and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
I agree with you that a theology of AI and the church is essential