By Bess Twiston Davies
“Faith, Community and AI How people use ChatGPT for everyday religious observance” reveals that roughly 45 percent of the searches it received about religion from Sep 2025 to Sep 2026 involved Islam. Thirty-four percent concerned Christianity, four percent Hinduism, one percent Judaism, and two percent Buddhism.
The five world faiths accounted for approximately 85 percent of the search requests analysed by the report. The increase in queries relating to religion appeared to be linked to religious festivals: the number of searches for information linked to Islam spiked around Ramadan and Eid-al-Adha, while searches concerning Christianity rose around Easter. Searches relating to Judaism linked to holidays, rituals and kosher practice increased around Passover.
Just under a third or 22 million of the ChatGPT searches involved understanding religious texts, while about 16 million focus on the meaning of religious practices and holidays. Similar numbers asked questions about beliefs, meaning or spiritual guidance.
Around half of Christian-related searches were queries about passages of scripture, while 13 percent concerned worship, sermons or church practices.
In the report produced last month, Open AI stated: “AI is not and should not become an arbiter of religious truth or a replacement for spiritual guidance. Those roles belong to individuals, religious leaders, and congregations. What AI can do is to give people tools that help them practice their faith, deepen their understanding, and connect more meaningfully with those who share their beliefs.”
The report also mentioned the reliance of Americans on ChatGPT in religious contexts: 42 percent of Protestant ministers said in 2025 they have used AI for ministry, while 21 percent of American Catholic health-care organisations which offer patients spiritual support use AI according to a 2025 survey from the Catholic Health Association published in the Spring. – The Tablet
