How pastors use AI
Percent of U.S. Protestant pastors (in percent)
Key finding
Four in ten pastors are already using or testing AI.
- Experimenting: 32%
- Ignoring it: 20%
- Waiting for better examples: 18%
Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors and Churchgoers See AI as Concerning and Confusing · Survey of 1,000+ U.S. Protestant pastors, reported by Baptist Press.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Four in ten pastors are already using or testing AI. Experimenting: 32%. Ignoring it: 20%. Waiting for better examples: 18%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors and Churchgoers See AI as Concerning and Confusing (https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/pastors-churchgoers-see-ai-as-concerning-and-confusing-according-to-lifeway-research/).
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- Pastors concerned about AI misinterpreting scripture Barna Group, via Gloo, 2026
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.