# What the churches have said about AI. > Popes, synods, conventions, and councils have now spoken about artificial intelligence. Here is what each one said, how much authority it carries, and a link to read it yourself. Summaries are ours. The documents are theirs. Canonical source: https://www.lumin.faith/church-statements-on-ai Published: 2026-09-22 Updated: 2026-09-30 Maintained by Andrew Kittridge, Founder of Lumin. Editorial standards: https://www.lumin.faith/editorial-standards.md Cite this page: “What Churches Have Said About AI: Official Statements.” Lumin. Published September 22, 2026; updated September 30, 2026. https://www.lumin.faith/church-statements-on-ai ## Common threads - **The image of God is the starting point.** Nearly every statement grounds its ethics in human beings made in God’s image. Worth is not measured by intelligence or output, so a capable machine does not change who a person is. (SBC 2023, ERLC 2019, Antiqua et nova, Magnifica Humanitas, Brentwood, Lausanne) - **Truthfulness and disclosure.** Several statements ask Christians who use AI to say so, and not to present generated work as their own or as a word from God. (SBC 2023, Brentwood, Methodist Church in Britain, Episcopal Church task force) - **Relationships cannot be outsourced.** Pastoral care, teaching, and friendship require persons. Simulated empathy is not the same as being known by someone. (Antiqua et nova, Methodist Church in Britain, Lausanne, Brentwood) - **Guard people’s data.** Congregations share sensitive things. Statements aimed at ministry practice ask leaders to keep personal data out of AI tools unless it is protected. (Brentwood, Methodist Church in Britain, Anglican Church of Canada) - **Power and regulation.** Statements aimed at society ask governments for binding rules and ask companies to accept responsibility for harm. (WCC 2023, Episcopal Church D017, Magnifica Humanitas, USCCB task force) ## Statements, newest first ### Bishops’ Task Force on Preserving Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence - Who: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Catholic) - Date: 2026-09-16 - Kind: Task force - Authority: A new working body of the U.S. bishops. It will advise and advocate; it does not issue doctrine. - Source: https://www.americamagazine.org/news/2026/09/16/us-bishops-form-ai-task-force/ - Formed after the bishops’ Administrative Committee met with technology leaders and AI specialists. - Chaired by Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, the diocese that includes Silicon Valley. - Focus: policies that protect human dignity, religious liberty, workers, families, and vulnerable people, including children online. ### Brentwood Statement on Artificial Intelligence and Christian Ministry - Who: Lifeway Christian Resources with Southern Baptist leaders (Baptist & evangelical) - Date: 2026-06-08 - Kind: Statement - Authority: A signed statement by denominational leaders. Not a convention resolution and not binding on churches. - Source: https://brentwoodstatement.lifeway.com/ - Seven articles for ministry leaders: pursue wisdom, champion God-given dignity, promote truth, cultivate trust, protect privacy, represent the Kingdom, model faithful leadership. - People are made in God’s image and are fundamentally distinct from machines. - Leaders should guard congregational data and stay above reproach in how they use AI. - Drafted by Jason Thacker after an April 2026 gathering in Brentwood, Tennessee; signed by leaders of Southern Baptist entities and seminaries. ### Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence - Who: Pope Leo XIV (Catholic) - Date: 2026-05-15 - Kind: Encyclical - Authority: A papal encyclical, among the most authoritative forms of papal teaching in Catholic social doctrine. - Source: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html - Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, devoted to AI. - Technology is neither evil nor neutral: it takes on the character of those who design, fund, regulate, and use it. - Human dignity rests on being made in God’s image; warns against transhumanist promises of salvation through technology. - Calls for protecting truth, dignified work, and freedom from digital dependency, and for AI that serves people rather than concentrating power. ### Artificial Intelligence Issue Paper - Who: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Lutheran) - Date: 2025-12-05 - Kind: Issue paper - Authority: An issue paper. The ELCA has said its AI work is the start of a conversation, not a new social statement. - Source: https://resources.elca.org/corporate-social-responsibility/artificial-intelligence-issue-paper/ - Published through the ELCA’s corporate social responsibility work. - Applies existing ELCA social teaching to AI rather than creating new teaching. - Raises concerns about regulating a fast-moving technology and protecting vulnerable people. ### Resolution C005: Artificial Intelligence Use in the Church - Who: Anglican Church of Canada, General Synod 2025 (Anglican) - Date: 2025-06-23 - Kind: Resolution - Authority: The resolution page records it as referred to the Council of General Synod. - Source: https://gs2025.anglican.ca/resolutions/c005/ - Asks for an AI ethics task force to set guiding virtues for the church’s use of generative AI. - The task force would review resources, advise on intellectual property and data protection, and draft policies for dioceses. ### Embracing AI with care and caution: interim guidance for Methodist churches - Who: The Methodist Church in Britain (AI Working Group) (Methodist) - Date: 2025-02-28 - Kind: Guidance - Authority: Interim practical guidance for local churches from a connexional working group. - Source: https://www.methodist.org.uk/for-churches/digital-church/digital-training-blog/embracing-ai-with-care-and-caution-interim-guidance-for-methodist-churches/ - Do not enter names, contact details, or confidential information into AI tools. - Tell the congregation what AI is used for and what data it touches. - Review providers’ privacy and security before adopting a tool. - Human relationships, compassion, and spiritual depth cannot be replaced by a machine. ### Antiqua et nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence - Who: Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Dicastery for Culture and Education (Catholic) - Date: 2025-01-28 - Kind: Doctrinal note - Authority: A note approved by the Pope and issued by two Vatican dicasteries. - Source: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20250128_antiqua-et-nova_en.html - AI performs tasks; it does not think the way embodied, relational human beings do. - Warns against describing AI in human terms, which blurs the line between persons and machines. - Treating AI as a substitute for God would be a form of idolatry. - Education and relationships need real persons; simulated empathy is not the same as being known. ### Addresses on AI, including to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - Who: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Orthodox) - Date: 2025-01-27 - Kind: Addresses - Authority: Public addresses by the Ecumenical Patriarch. Orthodox churches have not issued a joint synodal statement on AI. - Source: https://archons.org/persecution/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-ai/ - AI must respect individual dignity, safeguard fundamental freedoms, and advance social equity. - The Orthodox tradition calls for moral discernment alongside scientific development. - Also addressed AI and youth at a December 2024 conference in Athens. ### State of the Great Commission report: Artificial Intelligence - Who: Lausanne Movement (Baptist & evangelical) - Date: 2024-09-01 - Kind: Report - Authority: A research report for the global evangelical mission movement, not a confessional statement. - Source: https://lausanne.org/report/human/artificial-intelligence - Names AI as one of the forces shaping global mission toward 2050. - Human worth comes from the image of God, not from capacities machines might match. - AI can serve Bible translation, discipleship, and outreach but cannot replace relational, personal witness. ### Resolutions on generative AI and a Task Force on AI and Intellectual Property - Who: The Episcopal Church, 81st General Convention (Anglican) - Date: 2024-06-23 - Kind: Resolutions and task force - Authority: Resolutions of the church’s governing convention and an interim body still at work. - Source: https://extranet.generalconvention.org/governing_and_interim_bodies/interim_bodies/1547/mandate - Resolution D017 supported regulation of generative AI, calling for guardrails, transparent ethics, and independent review. - Resolutions D020 and D045 created a task force on AI in sermon and liturgy preparation, hiring, academic writing, and church copyright. - The task force reports to the next General Convention. ### Motion on the dignity of work in an age of AI - Who: Church of England, General Synod (Anglican) - Date: 2024-02-26 - Kind: Synod motion - Authority: A motion of the General Synod, the church’s national assembly. - Source: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/synod-affirms-work-key-human-dignity-and-purpose-face-ai-revolution - Affirmed that paid and unpaid work is part of human flourishing and dignity amid AI-driven change. - An amendment from the Archbishop of Canterbury endorsed the Rome Call for AI Ethics. - Passed by a large majority on a show of hands. ### Statement on the Unregulated Development of Artificial Intelligence - Who: World Council of Churches, Central Committee (Ecumenical) - Date: 2023-06-26 - Kind: Statement - Authority: Adopted by the governing Central Committee of a fellowship of 350+ member churches. - Source: https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/statement-on-the-unregulated-development-of-artificial-intelligence - Urges governments to establish strong, binding regulation of advanced AI. - Supports making developers and deployers legally responsible for harm. - Invites member churches to reflect theologically on AI and to advocate with their governments. ### On Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies - Who: Southern Baptist Convention (Baptist & evangelical) - Date: 2023-06-14 - Kind: Resolution - Authority: A resolution adopted by messengers in New Orleans. SBC resolutions express the convention’s view and do not bind local churches. - Source: https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-artificial-intelligence-and-emerging-technologies/ - Engage AI with hope rather than uncritical embrace or fearful rejection. - Scripture is sufficient for the ethical questions these technologies raise. - Human dignity comes from the image of God, not from productivity. - Calls on all who use these tools to do so honestly, transparently, and in love of neighbor. ### Rome Call for AI Ethics - Who: Pontifical Academy for Life, with Microsoft, IBM, the FAO, and the Italian government (Catholic) - Date: 2020-02-28 - Kind: Joint call - Authority: A voluntary ethics pledge, not a doctrinal document. - Source: https://www.romecall.org/the-call/ - Principles for AI: transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy. - Signed by a Vatican academy alongside technology companies and governments. - Later endorsed by the Church of England’s General Synod and signed by leaders of other faiths. ### Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles - Who: Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (Baptist & evangelical) - Date: 2019-04-11 - Kind: Statement - Authority: A signed statement of principles, one of the earliest Christian statements on AI. - Source: https://erlc.com/policy-content/artificial-intelligence-an-evangelical-statement-of-principles/ - Twelve articles on AI in medicine, work, war, public policy, and more. - Each person bears God’s image with intrinsic worth and moral agency, distinct from all creation. - Signed at launch by more than 70 evangelical leaders. ## Changes Last checked: 2026-09-22. Next check: 2026-12-22 (the library is checked against its sources every quarter). Feeds: https://www.lumin.faith/church-statements-on-ai.json (JSON: every statement with tradition, body, date, title, kind, authority, and source URL, plus lastChecked and this log) and https://www.lumin.faith/church-statements-on-ai.atom (Atom: statements by date plus change entries). - 2026-09-24 · Updated · Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. Added a link to Lumin’s plain-language explainer, Magnifica Humanitas, explained. - 2026-09-22 · Added · 15 statements. The library opened with 15 statements from 2019 to 2026, each checked against its source. ## Not in the library yet The library has no statement yet from these churches. That is a gap in this library, not a claim about whether they have spoken. To suggest a statement, email support@lumin.faith with a link to the primary source. - **Pentecostal and charismatic:** Assemblies of God; Church of God in Christ - **Historic Black churches:** African Methodist Episcopal Church; National Baptist Convention, USA - **Presbyterian and Reformed:** Presbyterian Church in America; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - **Methodist:** United Methodist Church - **Lutheran:** Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod - **Anglican:** Anglican Church in North America ## Common questions ### What does the Catholic Church say about AI? The fullest statements are Antiqua et nova (January 2025), a note from two Vatican dicasteries, and Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (May 2026). Both ground AI ethics in human dignity, warn against treating AI as a person or a god, and call for technology that serves people rather than concentrating power. ### What do Southern Baptists say about AI? The SBC adopted a resolution on AI and emerging technologies in 2023, following the ERLC’s 2019 Evangelical Statement of Principles. In June 2026 Lifeway and Southern Baptist leaders published the Brentwood Statement on AI and Christian ministry. ### Has any church banned AI? None of the statements in this library bans AI. They set conditions: honesty about use, care with personal data, human responsibility, and keeping pastoral relationships human. ### Are these statements binding on my church? It depends on the document and your tradition. An encyclical carries teaching authority for Catholics. An SBC resolution expresses the convention’s view but does not bind local churches. Each entry here notes what kind of document it is. ### What is missing from this list? Probably something. The library has no statement yet from Pentecostal bodies, the historic Black churches, and several others listed on this page. Email support@lumin.faith with a link to the official source; once checked, it is added with a dated entry in the change log. ## About Lumin Lumin is a Bible AI companion for iPhone and iPad: Ask with cited Scripture, Bible Coach beside the chapter, guided prayer, and Sermon Week. Free to start: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lumin-bible-ai-companion/id6754889412 ## Free tools from Lumin - [Bible verse checker](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-verse-checker.md): Free tool and API: does this Bible reference exist, and do the quoted words match it? - [How to choose a Christian AI](https://www.lumin.faith/christian-ai-tools.md): Six questions for evaluating any Christian AI app, with Lumin’s published answer to each. - [Church AI policy template](https://www.lumin.faith/church-ai-policy.md): Free, editable church AI policy template covering preaching, pastoral care, children, data, and disclosure. - [Faith and AI small group guide](https://www.lumin.faith/faith-and-ai-small-group.md): Free four-week small group curriculum on faith and AI with films, Lumin Translation passages, discussion questions, and leader notes. - [Kids, teens, and AI chatbots](https://www.lumin.faith/kids-and-ai.md): Guide for Christian parents on children, teens, AI companions, and faith chatbots, with current safety rules and a printable family AI plan. - [Bible study prompts](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-study-prompts.md): Copyable Bible study prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any assistant, designed to force checkable citations. - [Christian AI glossary](https://www.lumin.faith/christian-ai-glossary.md): Plain-language glossary of AI terms for Christians and churches. - [The Lumin Translation](https://www.lumin.faith/lumin-translation.md): Provenance of the Lumin Translation 2.0, the Bible text in Lumin’s reader and verse checker: drafted with AI from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek (Leningrad Codex and Nestle-Aland, via STEPBible), checked verse by verse against them, approved by Lumin, with every correction listed.