Not Human Enough? Rethinking AI's Place in Pastoral Care
Tretter, M., & Glatzel, M. (2026). Not human enough? Rethinking AI's place in pastoral care. Pastoral Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-026-01351-6
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Research
Research library
A curated collection of published work on artificial intelligence, digital technology and spiritual care. Each entry carries a short summary, a full citation, and — where the article is open access — a link to the text.
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Algorithmic Empathy: Assessing AI’s Capacity for Presence in Pastoral Care
Sande, N. (2026). Algorithmic empathy: Assessing AI's capacity for presence in pastoral care. Pastoral Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-026-01340-9
Read more →Leveraging Large Language Models for Pastoral Care Training: Development, Application, and Ethical Considerations of an AI Simulation Chatbot
Mavrias, S. (2026). Leveraging large language models for pastoral care training: Development, application, and ethical considerations of an AI simulation chatbot. In M. Tretter, M. Scholz, A. Puzio, & J. Simmerlein (Eds.), Artificial intelligence in religious practice: Bots, robots, and generative AI (Religion and Artificial Intelligence). Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/9783032237200
Read more →Red teaming with faith leaders: expanding digital safety and accountability to frontiers of care
Lutz, N., & Weyl, E. G. (2026). Red teaming with faith leaders: Expanding digital safety and accountability to frontiers of care. In FAccT '26 (pp. 399–422). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3805689.3812362
Read more →When Spiritual Robots Fail: AI-based robots, spirituality, and moral responsibility for bad outcomes
Kropf, M. (2026). When spiritual robots fail: AI-based robots, spirituality, and moral responsibility for bad outcomes. LIMINA – Grazer theologische Perspektiven, 9(1), 221–246. https://www.limina-graz.eu/index.php/limina/article/view/299
Read more →Deus in Machina: A Conversational AI for Spiritual Experience
Haslbauer, P., Reichherzer, C., Schmid, M., & Smolic, A. (2026). Deus in Machina: A conversational AI for spiritual experience. In Proceedings of the 2025 12th International Conference on Digital and Interactive Arts: Media Art Cultures, Communities & Territories (ARTECH '25) (pp. 1–7). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3773699.3773922
Read more →Chaplains' Reflections on the Design and Usage of AI for Conversational Care
Wester, J., Rhys Cox, S., Pohl, H., & van Berkel, N. (2026). Chaplains' reflections on the design and usage of AI for conversational care. In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-15). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3790468
Read more →Culturally Competent Spiritual Care during Health Disasters and Emergencies: Developments in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Papadopoulos, I., Lazzarino, R., & Koulouglioti, C. (2025). Culturally competent spiritual care during health disasters and emergencies: Developments in the era of artificial intelligence and robotics. Routledge.
Read more →Nurses' Perspectives on The Interaction of Artificial Intelligence and Spirituality In Palliative Care Units: A Qualitative Research
Ceylan, H. (2025). Nurses' perspectives on the interaction of artificial intelligence and spirituality in palliative care units: A qualitative research. Turkish Journal of Health Science and Life, 8(2), 72-82. https://doi.org/10.56150/tjhsl.1738995
Read more →Mental Health, AI-based Care Robots and Fair Access to Healthcare
Kropf, M. (2025). Mental health, AI-based care robots and fair access to healthcare. Canadian Journal of Bioethics, 8(3), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.7202/1118902ar
Read more →Artificial Intelligence and Human Spirituality: Is a Spiritual Chatbot a Good Idea?
Cole-Turner, R. (2025). Artificial intelligence and human spirituality: Is a spiritual chatbot a good idea? Theology and Science, 23(3), 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2514299
Read more →An Informatics Approach to Characterizing Rarely Documented Clinical Information in Electronic Health Records: Spiritual Care as an Exemplar
Albashayreh, A., Zeinali, N., Gusen, N. J., Ji, Y., & Gilbertson-White, S. (2025). An informatics approach to characterizing rarely documented clinical information in electronic health records: Spiritual care as an exemplar. Applied Clinical Informatics, 16(4), 1146-1156. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2599-6300
Read more →ShamAIn: Designing Superior Conversational AI Inspired by Shamanism
Cho, H., Seo, J. A., Lee, J., Kim, C.-M., & Nam, T.-J. (2025). ShamAIn: Designing superior conversational AI inspired by shamanism. In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '25). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3714297
Read more →Generative AI Cannot Replace a Spiritual Companion or Spiritual Advisor
Wiseman, H. (2025). Generative AI cannot replace a spiritual companion or spiritual advisor. Christian Perspectives on Science and Technology, 3(1), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.58913/REGE5291
Read more →Using artificial intelligence for spiritual well-being: conceptualizing predictive models
Kumar, D., & Uchoi, E. (2025). Using artificial intelligence for spiritual well-being: Conceptualizing predictive models. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2025.2454427
Read more →Digital technologies, robotics, and other AI devices in the provision of culturally competent spiritual care
Lazzarino, R. (2025). Digital technologies, robotics, and other AI devices in the provision of culturally competent spiritual care. In Culturally competent spiritual care during health disasters and emergencies. Routledge.
Read more →What about spiritual needs? Care robotics and spiritual care
Simmerlein, J., & Tretter, M. (2024). What about spiritual needs? Care robotics and spiritual care. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2024.1455133
Read more →Spiritual Conversation with a Companion Machine
Watts, F., & Wilks, Y. A. (2024). Spiritual conversation with a companion machine. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 59(3). https://doi.org/10.16995/zygon.11087
Read more →Will AI ever become spiritual? A Hospital Chaplaincy perspective
Brown, E. (2023). Will AI ever become spiritual? A Hospital Chaplaincy perspective. Practical Theology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/1756073X.2023.2242940
Read more →Virtual Pastor: Virtualization, AI, and Pastoral Care
Young, W. (2022). Virtual Pastor: Virtualization, AI, and Pastoral Care. Theology and Science, 20 (1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2021.2012915
Read more →Pastoral Virtues for Artificial Intelligence: Care and the Algorithms that Guide Our Lives
Hamman, J. J. (2022). Pastoral Virtues for Artificial Intelligence: Care and the Algorithms that Guide Our Lives. Lexington Books.
Read more →Pastoral and Spiritual Care in a Digital Age: The Future Is Now
Bingaman, K. A. (2018). Pastoral and Spiritual Care in a Digital Age: The Future Is Now. Lexington Books.
Read more →Artificial Pastoral Care: Abdication, Delegation or Collaboration?
Stoddart, E. (2023). Artificial pastoral care: Abdication, delegation or collaboration? Studies in Christian Ethics, 36(3), 660–674. https://doi.org/10.1177/09539468231179571
Read more →Could a Conscious Machine Deliver Pastoral Care?
Proudfoot, A. (2023). Could a conscious machine deliver pastoral care? Studies in Christian Ethics, 36(3), 675–693. https://doi.org/10.1177/09539468231172006
Read more →Replika: Spiritual Enhancement Technology?
Trothen, T. J. (2022). Replika: Spiritual enhancement technology? Religions, 13(4), 275. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040275
Read more →The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith
Williams, S. N., & Wyatt, J. (2021). The robot will see you now: Artificial intelligence and the Christian faith. SPCK Publishing.
Read more →REVEREND ROBOT: AUTOMATION AND CLERGY: with Mohammad Yaqub Chaudhary, “Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and the Re‐Enchantment of the World”; and William Young, “Reverend Robot: Automation and Clergy.”
Young, W. (2019). Reverend robot: Automation and clergy. Zygon, 54(2), 479-500. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12515
Read more →A Machine Learning Approach to Evaluating Illness-Induced Religious Struggle
Glauser, J., Connolly, B., Nash, P., & Grossoehme, D. H. (2017). A machine learning approach to evaluating illness-induced religious struggle. Biomedical Informatics Insights, 9, 117822261668606. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178222616686067
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