A Study on Theological Students’ Perception of Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Educational Implications

Rapidly developing modern science & technology have a profound impact on Christians and pastoral work. Recently, the 4th Industrial Revolution has induced lots of discussions in the field of church and theology, and artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important issue in many ways. Nevertheless, there is a lack of empirical research on how the AI would affect church and pastoral work. This study examined and analyzed the theological students' perception of AI. A survey was conducted on the perception of seven sub-areas of 220 male and female theological students at major seminaries in Korea. The seven sub-areas were including the degree of interest in AI, social influence, AI’s alternative influence, and AI’s church influence. The results showed that theological students generally agree with the academic relevance of AI or the need for education on AI. However, it presented a low perception of the impact of AI on the church. Such recognition may reflect the following belief. Students are aware that the AI is a necessary and important part of social and general education, but at the same time, they think the AI may not significantly threaten the church. Therefore, we suggest that considering a response of Christian education to raise the perception of theological students of AI, courses related to science and technology should be organized in the curriculum of seminaries at various levels from the perspective of the Christian worldview.