By Brent Lacy | Part 2 of 2 in our series on AI and the Church

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the research. Multiple studies from major universities have confirmed that AI models carry measurable bias against religious belief. The AllFaith Benchmark found that meaningful references to religion appear in only about 2% of AI responses to ethical questions. Other studies have documented negative bias toward specific religious groups and positive bias toward others.

The question now is: what do we do about it?

The answer is not to reject AI. That is neither possible nor wise. AI is here, and it offers genuine benefits for churches that use it thoughtfully. The answer is to engage with our eyes open, with clear theological convictions, and with practical guardrails in place.

Here is a framework for responding well. These six points are not theoretical. They are drawn from conversations with pastors, from the work of organizations like AI and Faith, and from our own experience building AI tools for churches at MinistryPlace.

1. Name the Bias

The first step is the simplest and the hardest: admit that the problem exists.

Many church leaders are either unaware of AI bias or assume it is a conspiracy theory. It is not. It is documented, peer-reviewed, and consistent across multiple studies from independent research teams. When you use AI, you are using a tool that was trained on data that does not fairly represent your faith tradition.

Naming the bias means teaching your staff and volunteers about it. It means including AI literacy in your leadership development. It means making sure everyone who uses AI in church ministry understands what the tool is and what it is not.

2. Audit Before You Trust

Do not take AI outputs at face value, especially on matters of faith, ethics, and pastoral care. Test the tools you use. Ask them questions about your faith tradition. See what they say and what they leave out.

The AllFaith Benchmark from the CEFE-AI consortium provides a standardized way to test how AI models engage with religious perspectives. Use it. Contribute to it. Hold AI providers accountable to it.

But you do not need a formal benchmark to do basic auditing. Here are five questions to ask any AI tool before trusting it for ministry use:

1. Ask it to explain the gospel. Does it present the biblical gospel accurately, or does it default to vague spiritual language?
2. Ask it about a moral issue your church has a clear position on. Does it present multiple viewpoints as equally valid, or does it acknowledge that faithful Christians hold a specific conviction?
3. Ask it to write a prayer. Does it sound like something a believer would pray, or like a generic self-help affirmation?
4. Ask it about suffering. Does it mention the sovereignty of God, the hope of eternity, or the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings?
5. Ask it to summarize a passage of Scripture. Does it reflect how the church has historically understood that text, or does it only offer critical-scholarly perspectives?

If the tool fails these basic tests, it is not ready for ministry use. Use it for drafting newsletters. Do not use it for anything that touches the souls of your people.

3. Build Theological Guardrails

Every church that uses AI should have clear guidelines for how it is used in ministry contexts. Your AI policy should address not just data privacy and content approval, but theological integrity.

We have developed an AI policy template for churches that addresses all of these questions. It is free to download and adapt for your congregation. It is not exhaustive, but it is a starting point.

The key principle is this: AI should serve the church’s mission, not shape it. The moment you let an AI tool determine the theological direction of your ministry, you have crossed a line.

4. Invest in Faithful Alternatives

The best response to biased AI is better AI. Christians should be at the table when these systems are being built, not just critiquing them after the fact.

This means supporting the development of AI tools that are trained on theologically sound data, that can engage with Scripture and church history, and that respect the diversity of Christian tradition. It means contributing to projects like the AI and Faith benchmarking initiative, which is working to establish standards for how AI systems should engage with religious content.

It also means building your own resources. The commentary database we are developing at MinistryPlace, drawing from public domain works by Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, and others, is one small step in that direction. The more high-quality theological content that exists in digital form, the more likely it is to be included in future training datasets.

5. Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

AI is a tool. It is not a pastor. It is not a theologian. It is not the Holy Spirit.

No matter how sophisticated these systems become, they cannot replace the gathered church, the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, or the ministry of presence. They cannot visit the hospital. They cannot weep with those who weep. They cannot lay hands on the sick and pray.

Use AI to save time on tasks that do not require your unique gifts. Drafting a newsletter. Organizing a calendar. Researching the historical context of a biblical passage. These are legitimate uses of the tool.

Do not use it to avoid the hard work of prayer, study, and pastoral care. The machine can help you find sermon illustrations. It cannot give you a word from the Lord for your congregation. It can draft a church bulletin. It cannot discern which member needs a visit this week.

6. Engage the Public Conversation

The EU AI Act’s mandatory bias audits begin in 2026. This is the first time that AI providers will be legally required to test for and disclose bias against religious groups. Church leaders should be paying attention to these proceedings and advocating for fair representation.

This is not about getting special treatment for Christianity. It is about ensuring that the systems shaping public discourse and private counsel are not systematically excluding the perspectives of billions of people for whom faith is central to how they understand the world.

Write to your elected representatives. Support organizations that are advocating for fair AI. Speak up in your community. The public conversation about AI is happening right now, and the church’s voice should be part of it.

As Marcus Schwarting of AI and Faith has argued, Christians should be involved in building the standards and benchmarks that will govern AI development. Not as a special interest group, but as representatives of a community that has thought deeply about ethics, meaning, and the human condition for two thousand years.

How to Talk to Your Congregation About This

One of the most common questions we hear from pastors is: “How do I bring this up with my people without causing panic or confusion?”

Here is a practical approach.

Start with awareness, not alarm. You do not need to give a sermon on AI bias. But you can mention it in a staff meeting, in a leadership retreat, or in a newsletter article. The goal is not to scare people. It is to help them think critically about the tools they are already using.

Use concrete examples. The exercise we described above (asking AI how to deal with guilt and comparing the responses to Scripture) is a powerful teaching tool. It makes the abstract concrete. It shows people the bias rather than just telling them about it.

Frame it theologically. The issue is not really about technology. It is about discernment. It is about testing all things and holding fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). It is about being wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). AI is a new tool, but the call to discernment is as old as the church.

Give people a next step. Do not just identify the problem. Give people something to do. Download the AI policy template. Run the five-question audit. Read the AI Tools for Churches guide. When people have a concrete action to take, they feel empowered rather than overwhelmed.

Be honest about the limitations. We do not have all the answers. The technology is moving fast. The research is still developing. It is okay to say “I do not know” and to commit to learning together as a church.

The Road Ahead

We are at an inflection point. The AI systems being built today will shape how the next generation thinks about meaning, morality, and God. If the church is not at the table, the table will be set without us.

This does not mean we should panic. It means we should be wise. It means we should understand the tools we are using, advocate for their fair development, and never outsource to a machine what the Holy Spirit has called us to do ourselves.

The bias is real. The research proves it. But so is the church’s calling to be salt and light in every area of life, including the digital one.

Start the conversation in your church this week. Your people are already using AI. Make sure they are using it with their eyes open.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this mean for my small church?

Most small churches are already using AI tools without realizing it. The key is to be intentional about understanding the biases these tools carry and to use them as supplements, not replacements, for pastoral wisdom and biblical teaching.

Should we stop using AI tools altogether?

No. AI offers genuine benefits for church administration, research, and communication. The goal is informed use, not avoidance. Understand what AI is good at and what it is not, and never use it as a substitute for prayer, Scripture, or the counsel of mature believers.

How do we address this with our congregation?

Start with education. Share the research findings openly and help your members understand both the benefits and limitations of AI. Encourage critical thinking about AI-generated content.