The 2024 election might be seen as a turning point for Silicon Valley, as leaders swung to the right this past election, with Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and, most notably, Elon Musk became vocal Trump supporters, with Musk taking an active role in his administration with his DOGE agency. Alongside that shift, there was also something of a Christian revival happening as well, led by tech leaders like Peter Thiel, Garry Tan, and Trae Stephens.
As the New York Times put it, “If religious rituals offer up old ways of muddling through newly tumultuous times, it’s unsurprising that they’re resurging now in Silicon Valley, which seems to be going through its own cycle of rebirth.”
This is all happening at the same time that AI is also taking hold in industries across the spectrum. As such, numerous companies are now exploring the intersection of AI and religion, with some focusing on tools for faith-based communities, while others are exploring the potential of AI in religious studies.
Christian apps
The two of the biggest, and most well known, apps combining AI and religion are Hallow and Pray.com.
Hallow, which has raised $105 million in funding, uses AI to recommend personalized prayer routines, meditations, and scripture readings based on user habits. With over 10 million downloads, the platform offers rosaries, Bible stories, and sleep aids, all curated by AI models. Pray.com, meanwhile, combines AI with community features, offering Bible stories, daily devotionals, and prayer requests. It also uses AI to suggest content and manage user engagement. The company, which has raised $34 million, passed 2.5 billion minutes in prayer and 100 million podcast downloads last year.
Another major player is Gloo, which provides AI tools and resources for faith communities, providing features like messaging, groups, and AI-powered tools to support outreach, communication, and connection.
“We believe a connected and thriving faith community will change the world, one life at a time. Therefore, we created a technology platform that connects the faith ecosystem, so people and organizations can do more of what they are called to do,” the company, which has raised over $150 million in venture funding, says on its website.
There are many new players on the scene as well. For example, there’s Faith Copilot, an AI platform that aids churches and individuals in faith exploration, sermon preparation, and Bible study, while Wisdom International uses a chatbot called “WisdomA.I., which is trained on Stephen Davey’s YouTube content to answer Bible-related questions, and Pastors.AI is a tool that can take a YouTube sermon and create summaries, captioned clips, devotionals, and discussion questions.
Other tools include Christian AI, a chatbot trained on biblical texts, sermons, and theological works, enabling it to provide detailed answers to faith-related questions; YouVersion, an online Bible engagement application that creates biblically centered experiences that encourage its users to seek God throughout each day; Bible Chat, a Bucharest-based company that has raised €13.4 million, is a mobile app created for Christians and those looking for spiritual direction.
There’s also Commissioned, a social mobilization platform that combines comms, networking and matchmaking, enterprise productivity, events, social communities that are aimed at a Christian audience. The company has raised $200,000 in funding.
Muslim apps
Of course, not all apps are aimed at a Christian audience, and there are a number being developed for all the other major religions as well.
For Islam, for example, there’s Qalbox, a streaming service that is part of the Muslim Pro app, which offers Islamic content, including Quranic recitations, lectures, and AI-powered prayer time predictions. By Ramadan 2024, Muslim Pro had 25 million monthly and 8 million daily active users.
There’s also ImamAI which answers to Quran-related queries through its ‘QuranAI’ feature, along with prayer reminders, halal restaurant finders, Qibla compass, and a prayer tracker, and Maarifa, which uses AI to offers religious guidance, personalized spiritual insights, andIslamic knowledge tailored to the users unique needs, while it interactive chatbot allows open and free questioning on any Islamic topic.
Other apps aimed at the Muslim community include IslamAI, which delivers answers to Islamic questions, powered by advanced AI technology, providing daily Islamic reminders and spiritual insights, with all answers based on authentic Islamic sources and scholarly consensus; Salaam World, which offers an AI assistant capable of responding in over 200 languages, providing references from the Quran and Hadiths, answers questions related to Islamic beliefs and practices, and offers explanations and interpretations of Quranic verses and Hadiths; WisQu, a Shia AI chatbot designed to provide answers on Islamic knowledge that assists users with answers based on authentic sources of Islam, including the Quran, Hadith, and scholarly interpretations; and Niyyah, which offers daily five-minute lessons, commentary, quizzes, and personalized learning to help users deeply engage with the teachings of the Quran, providing guides on topics like finding optimism through Quranic verses and offers rewards for achieving learning goals.
Jewish apps
Among the apps aimed at Judaism, one of the most popular is Sefaria, a digital library of Jewish texts that uses AI for semantic search, cross-referencing between texts, and suggesting related commentaries, which has 5 million total users and averages 598,000 monthly users.
Other include Rebbe.io, which uses artificial Intelligence to provide immediate answers rooted in Torah, Halacha, and Jewish tradition; Ai Rabbi, a resource for Torah learning and Jewish spirituality, offering access to thousands of Torah classes, video lectures, and other content; YankiAI, which provides AI tools aimed at automating and simplifying religious tasks, enhancing productivity, and supporting a Torah-driven lifestyle; Evan the AI Rabbi, an AI chatbot designed to answer questions about Judaism, ranging from customs to scholarly topics; RabbiGPT, an app simulating an Orthodox rabbi’s insights on Jewish law and customs, providing personalized answers and weekly Torah content; Robo Rabbi, an AI that summarizes weekly Torah portions and offers insights and challenges to inspire personal growth; and Jewbot.chat, a Jewish AI assistant that provides practical guidance on topics like Shabbat preparation, kosher rules, and Jewish jokes.
Mormon apps
There are apps aimed at Mormons as well, including LDSBot, an AI chatbot that discusses LDS doctrine, scripture, and history, which can assist with writing talks and lessons; ThirdHour Assistant, which is powered by ChatGPT and helps answer questions about LDS teachings, church history, and gospel topics; Book of Mormon GPT, a specialized version of the ChatGPT model, designed with a focus on providing insights, explanations, and engaging discussions about the Book of Mormon and related Latter-day Saint scriptures; and SaintsAI, which provides AI-generated lesson guides and talks based on recent General Conference addresses.
Others include Latter-day Art Creator, which generates AI-created artwork depicting scenes from LDS scriptures and history, focusing on the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and other significant LDS narratives; AI LDS Guidance Advisor, which offers personalized advice on LDS beliefs, practices, and local congregation information; and AI Mormon Scripture Study Guide, which assists with understanding and interpreting LDS scriptures, providing explanations and related passages.
Hindu apps
Some of the aimed at the Hindu population include Ahinsa, which offers personalized spiritual guidance, astrological insights, and mental well-being support, as well as daily reflections and emotional support.
There’s also Vedas AI, which serves as an interactive guide to sacred texts, offering personalized insights and daily affirmations; and VedikAI Purohit, a digital guide and facilitator for conducting Hindu pujas, particularly tailored to the traditions and practices found in the Hindu community of Fiji, with the aim of assisting users in performing rituals accurately and respectfully by providing step-by-step instructions, mantras, and the contextual significance of each ritual element.
Buddhist apps
Apps developes for Buddhists include AI Buddha, which allows users to engage in real-time conversations with an AI Buddha for guidance on life’s questions, emotional support, and spiritual insights; AskBuddha.ai, a platform where users can ask questions and receive wisdom-based responses inspired by Buddhist teachings; and Buddha GPT, a chatbot that provides meditation guidance, interpretation of buddhist texts, emotional support and guidance, and cultural and historical insights.
(Image source: swisscognitive.ch)
