Pew: 1 in 10 US adults now seek AI spiritual advice

The Pew finding lands in a culture that has been shifting for decades. Sociologists of religion Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead describe a "subjective turn" in contemporary Western culture, in which traditional sources of authority have competed with spirituality based on personal experience, self-discovery and well-being. The growth of the "spiritual but not religious" population reflects that shift away from institutional religious authority. Generative AI, Shipley argues, fits this personalized landscape remarkably well — ask a chatbot an existential question and it tends to use the vocabulary of personal spirituality and holistic well-being rather than quoting scripture.

Shipley points to existing examples. When a Guardian journalist asked HolyGPT "What is the actual meaning of life?" the chatbot answered: "The meaning of life is to become aware through experience, of what it is to be." ChatwithGod, meanwhile, encourages users to "draw from other perspectives when you want to," emphasizing personal choice over adherence to a specific religious system. Mindfulness teacher Vy Le describes AI as a "channeling" tool for finding one's inner guru. In each case, religious authority emerges not from a sacred text or person but through AI's ability to respond personally to each seeker — what recent scholarship calls "generative charisma."

What makes this historically unusual, in Shipley's reading, is that the charismatic figure no longer needs a stage, a church or disciples gathered around it. It can speak privately to each person, one at a time. The stakes hinge on whether that private guidance develops accountability structures — or whether, as scholars warn, it produces "authority without accountability," where no one is clearly responsible for the advice a chatbot gives.