A new nationwide study suggests that a significant portion of American Christians now consider spiritual counsel generated by artificial intelligence to be on par with guidance from clergy.
The findings come from research conducted by the Barna Group as part of its “State of the Church” project in collaboration with Gloo.
In polling 1,514 U.S. adults in November 2025, researchers discovered that 30% of respondents either “somewhat” or “strongly” agree that spiritual advice from AI “is as trustworthy as advice from a pastor.” The percentage rises notably among younger generations, reaching 39% for Generation Z and 40% for millennials.
Among practicing Christians specifically, 34% said they “somewhat” or “strongly” believe AI-generated spiritual counsel is just as reliable as pastoral advice. By comparison, 29% of non-practicing Christians and 27% of non-Christians expressed similar confidence in AI guidance.
The study also revealed that four out of 10 Christians report using AI tools to assist with prayer, Bible study and personal spiritual development. A separate December survey of 442 Protestant pastors indicated that more than 41% incorporate AI into their Bible study or sermon preparation process.
Roughly one-third of practicing Christians said they would welcome instruction from their pastors on how to approach emerging technologies. However, only 12% of pastors reported feeling at ease teaching about AI.
“Though the majority of practicing Christians remain the most cautious about embracing AI as a spiritual tool, their views are shifting and remain largely uninformed by their pastor,” Daniel Copeland, Barna’s vice president of research, said in a statement on the research. “There’s a real opportunity here for pastors to disciple their congregants on how to use this technology in a beneficial way.”
Additional data from the December 2025 “State of AI in the Church Survey Report,” compiled by AiForChurchLeaders.com and Exponential AI NEXT, shows that nearly two-thirds of surveyed church leaders who prepare sermons are integrating AI into their writing process. That report, based on responses from 594 pastors and ministry staff members, identified ChatGPT and Grammarly as the most frequently used tools.
Barna’s broader February 2025 survey of 2,025 U.S. adults also examined engagement with Christian media. Nearly 61% reported interacting with Christian media content in some capacity, and 51% said they do so on a weekly basis.
Public perception of Christian media appears mixed. While two-thirds of U.S. adults describe it as “valuable” and “trustworthy,” 45% of frequent consumers labeled the content “divisive,” and 40% said it makes “Christians look bad.”
