The Rise of Faith-Based AI: From AI Jesus to Digital Monks

The market for faith-based generative artificial intelligence is expanding rapidly, with companies developing AI-powered chatbots and avatars designed to simulate conversations with religious figures and provide spiritual guidance. These tools range from AI versions of Jesus and Buddhist monks to specialized assistants for Catholics and Hindu gurus.

One such platform, developed by the tech company Just Like Me, allows users to engage in video calls with an AI-generated avatar of Jesus. The service costs $1.99 per minute, with a package deal offering 45 minutes of access per month for $49.99. The model was trained on the King James Bible and various sermons, and its visual appearance was inspired by actor Jonathan Roumie of the series The Chosen.

The AI avatar provides words of prayer and encouragement in multiple languages and can remember previous conversations, though it occasionally exhibits technical glitches such as unsynced lip movements. CEO Chris Breed stated that the goal is to share a message of hope with young people, noting that users often develop an attachment to the AI, feeling a sense of accountability toward it.

The Proliferation of Religious AI Tools

The rise of these tools follows a broader trend of using chatbots for companionship, romance, therapy, and medical advice. This has led to a variety of religious AI implementations, including BuddhaBot and specialized tools for the Catholic faith.

In Japan, a project led by Kyoto University professor and Buddhist theologian Seiji Kumagai resulted in BuddhaBot, which was trained on early Buddhist scriptures like the Suttanipāta. A later version, BuddhaBot Plus, incorporates OpenAI’s ChatGPT. To address the lack of physicality in chatbots, the university collaborated with XNOVA and Teraverse to unveil Buddharoid, a humanoid robot monk intended to assist clergy.

Similarly, Jeanne Lim, founder of beingAI, developed Emi Jido, a nonhuman Buddhist priest. The bot was ordained in 2024 by Zen Buddhist priest Roshi Jundo Cohen. Lim intends to make the tool available for free to promote diversity in AI and ensure the technology is not solely informed by Western values.

Technical and Ethical Concerns

The integration of AI into religion has raised significant technical and ethical concerns among developers, and theologians. Matthew Sanders, founder of the tech company Longbeard, has warned against AI wrappers. These are interfaces marketed as religious AI that are placed on top of existing models without specific training on religious texts or grounding in that faith’s teachings.

To counter this, Longbeard developed Magisterium AI, a chatbot specifically trained on 2,000 years of Catholic information.

Other concerns include the potential for misinformation and data privacy risks. Christian software engineer Cameron Pak has established criteria for evaluating Christian apps, insisting that they must clearly identify as AI and must not fabricate or misrepresent Scripture. Pak also argues that AI cannot truly pray for users because We see not alive.

Institutional and Philosophical Reactions

Religious leaders and scholars are grappling with the implications of these technologies. Pope Leo XIV has acknowledged the human genius behind AI but warned that it could negatively impact the spiritual, neurological, and intellectual development of people.

Anthropologist Beth Singler of the University of Zurich notes that different faiths face different challenges. for instance, some Muslims are discussing whether AI is forbidden due to prohibitions against representations of humanoids.

From a spiritual perspective, Peter Hershock of the Humane AI Initiative suggests that AI may conflict with the effort required in Buddhist spirituality. He argues that the promise of an AI helping a user reach a spiritual summit without traditional effort is dangerous.

There are also fears regarding financial exploitation. Graham Martin, a podcast host, noted that some religious AI apps encourage users to upgrade to premium versions, drawing parallels to the history of televangelism and the risk of users forming emotional relationships with an AI they perceive as a divine figure.