Christianity grapples with the rise of an AI Jesus [View all]

[marmar]

Christianity grapples with the rise of an AI Jesus
How AI and podcasts are reviving “ancient heresies” and colliding with American Christianity online

By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published December 27, 2025 6:30AM (EST)


(Salon) Earlier in December, podcaster Joe Rogan suggested that Jesus Christ might return in the form of an artificial intelligence. While this moment garnered attention online and in the press, it’s actually just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the effect that AI is having on religious belief in highly online corners of American society.

....(snip)....

The response to the clip online was largely mockery or criticism of Rogan for his cozy relationship with tech oligarchs, like billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. But the notion of an AI Jesus is not as fringe as it might seem.

Robert Geraci, a professor of religious studies at Knox College who has authored multiple books on technology and religion, told Salon in an interview that religious beliefs that incorporate AI are becoming increasingly mainstream.

“The apocalyptic AI mindset is now present in our culture in a way that someone who might be currently or formerly religious can now rely on that as a kind of groundwork for putting their thoughts together, for putting a worldview together,” Geraci said.

On one level, AI Jesuses — there are many — are already here. There is no shortage of websites or apps that offer access to a large language model that offers some sort of spiritual advice based on Christian teachings. Even the Catholic Church has experimented with AI Jesus, with a Swiss church in Lucerne experimenting with a Jesus-like chatbot that was set up to speak with churchgoers in a confessional-style setting. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/12/27/christianity-grapples-with-the-rise-of-an-ai-jesus/