Coventry University researchers to investigate the impact of AI on religion and how faiths are responding

Coventry University researchers are exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) is influencing religious beliefs, practices and responsibilities - and whether it is being embraced or resisted by faith communities in the UK.

The research is being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s SALIENT Hub, with Coventry University the only UK institution to receive awards for two projects in the competitive funding round.

Led by Dr Adam Fenton in collaboration with Dr Chris Shannahan from the university’s Research Centre for Peace and Security, the project will explore whether religious leaders view AI as supportive of spiritual understanding or as a threat to long-held traditions and how these perceptions vary across different faiths and cultures.

While religion continues to be a hugely important part of live for many, especially in marginalised communities, recent advances in generative and agentic AI have the potential to challenge traditional beliefs, alter the ways in which people seek meaning and change how people experience and express their faith.

AI is now being used to generate religious texts, offer spiritual advice through chatbots, simulate the voices of deceased loved ones and even claim to speak as a divine presence, raising concerns that these technologies are interacting with areas of belief considered by some to be sacred.

The researchers will conduct interviews with leaders from the six major world religions to understand exactly how different beliefs and cultures are influencing views on AI. They will investigate whether religious values could help guide how AI is used responsibly and what it might mean for the role of faith leaders, especially as new technologies continue to affect jobs and everyday life.

The findings aim to support dialogue between faiths, inform public debate and contribute to policy decisions at a time when the wider impact of AI on society is only just beginning to emerge.

Find out more about the project: Cultural Resilience, Religious Faith and the intersection of Generative and Agentic Artificial Intelligence | Coventry University.