Three in five Protestant churchgoers in the United States say they are worried about artificial intelligence’s influence on Christianity, according to a new survey that finds deep divisions within congregations over whether pastors should use the technology to prepare their sermons. 

Among churchgoers surveyed for a new Lifeway Research study, 61% expressed concern about AI’s effect on the faith, including 67% of Evangelicals compared with 55% of those without Evangelical beliefs.

“Caution is an instinctive reaction to new things, and pastors and churchgoers share some concerns around AI,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said in a statement. “The majority of younger churchgoers would welcome hearing biblical principles applied to AI in a sermon to help them shape their perspective on it.”

The study is based on two polls: a phone survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors conducted in September 2025, with an error margin of 3.3 percentage points, and an online survey of 1,200 American Protestant churchgoers conducted last September, with an error margin of 3.2 percentage points. 

About 44% of churchgoers see nothing wrong with pastors using AI to prepare sermons, while 43% are opposed, including 24% who disagreed strongly. A further 13% were undecided.

Less frequent attendees (48%) were more open to AI-assisted sermon preparation than those who attend weekly (42%), as were churchgoers without Evangelical beliefs (49%), versus those with Evangelical beliefs (40%).

“Churchgoers are evenly split on whether it is right or wrong to use AI in sermon preparation. While only a quarter strongly reject this use, more than 5 in 6 have some pause on whether pastors should have a free pass on its use," McConnell added. "The caution may be from a desire to limit its use to certain activities or from not yet giving its morality much thought."

Among denominations, Presbyterian and Reformed churchgoers registered the highest levels of concern about AI at 64%, followed by Baptists at 62%, while Methodists were the least worried at 48%.

Men were more likely than women to say they had no concerns about AI’s influence on Christianity (31% to 25%). Churchgoers who attend services one to three times a month (31%) were also more likely than regular weekly attendees to say they were unconcerned (26%). 

Opinion was similarly divided on whether AI should be the subject of a sermon.

While 42% said they would find value in a sermon applying biblical principles to artificial intelligence, 43% were opposed, with 25% among them disagreeing strongly. Younger churchgoers were more receptive to the idea.

Those ages 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 were more likely than those 50 and older to say such a sermon would be worthwhile, at 50% and 53%, respectively, compared with 38% among those ages 50 to 64 and 33% among those 65 and older.

Among pastors, adoption of AI is limited and uneven.

One in 10 Protestant pastors describes themselves as a regular user, and one-third (32%) say they are experimenting with the technology. A further 18% are waiting to see more convincing examples of how AI might help before committing. At the same time, 18% are actively avoiding AI, and 20% are simply ignoring it.

“AI is embedded in many tools we use every day, so some pastors may be using AI technology without even knowing they are,” McConnell said. “Pastors’ use of AI for ministry reflects a typical spread of technology adoption with a few avid users and plenty testing it out in different ways.”

Pastors who are more likely to be regular users or experimenters tend to be younger, based in cities, more formally educated and leading larger congregations. Among those 65 and older, just 4% identify as regular users and 23% say they are experimenting with AI. In rural areas, 27% of pastors say they are ignoring the technology, compared with 18% in urban settings.

Pastors without a college degree are the least likely to be regular users (5%), while those with doctoral degrees are the most likely (14%). Congregations with 250 or more in attendance are disproportionately led by pastors who are experimenting (43%) or regularly using (15%) AI, according to Lifeway.

Denominational lines are also evident.

Lutheran and Baptist pastors are among the most resistant, with both groups the most likely to say they are ignoring the technology (22% each) or intentionally avoiding it (24% and 20%, respectively). Holiness pastors, by contrast, are the most likely to be experimenting with AI (43%) and to identify as regular users (18%).

Whatever their level of adoption, virtually all pastors raised at least one concern about AI in ministry. The most widely shared concern was that AI-generated content contains errors requiring editorial correction, cited by 84%. Some 81% said it was difficult to ensure AI tools drew only on reliable sources, and 76% said they believed biases may be embedded in how AI systems reach their conclusions.

A majority of pastors, 62%, worried that those using AI in their work were not disclosing it as a collaborator. Concerns about plagiarism were raised by 59%, and 55% said God has always communicated through human beings and that AI is not a person. Evangelical pastors were more likely than Mainline clergy to raise that concern (58% to 51%), while Mainline pastors were more likely to flag plagiarism (65% to 56%).

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/60-of-churchgoers-worried-about-ais-influence-on-christianity.html