XXII. European Forum for Religious Education in Schools

Religious Education and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the attempt to transfer human learning and thinking to a computer and thus endow it with intelligence. Instead of being programmed for every purpose, artificial intelligence can find answers and solve problems independently. But what significance does this technological development have for religious education? 

The ability to use artificial intelligence and digital tools: Only those who know how to use artificial intelligence can benefit from it. Programmes such as Chat GPT already offer the possibility of artificially generating lesson content, worksheets, homework solutions or entire essays. As a general school subject, religious education must not reject current solutions, but must make use of them.

The use of these possibilities must be specifically adapted to religious education, which requires appropriate subject didactics. With its particular view of humanity, religious education must ask where the limits of the new technical possibilities lie. A Christian view of humanity must always be the cornerstone for the use of artificial intelligence.

Since the aim of religious education is to prepare pupils for responsible participation in an increasingly technologised society, the question of whether and to what extent artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in this subject is becoming increasingly important. In this context, this article pursues three objectives. Firstly, the terminology and functionality.

Secondly, the exemplary possibilities and limitations of the use of AI in the implementation of the three basic tasks of religious education are explained, namely in the context of imparting structured and life relevant background knowledge about the faith of the Church, introducing forms of lived faith and promoting religious dialogue and argumentation skills. Finally, four key points are outlined, which essentially result from the analysis carried out and – in relation to the processes of teaching and learning religion – address the question of loss through the use of AI: the undermining of learners’ subjectivity, the reinforcement of prejudice or discrimination through the questionable quality and processes of AI training data production, as well as issues of data protection and security, the limited transferability and high costs of AI.