AI and the Future of Christianity

AI and the Future of Christianity is a timely course that explores the profound implications of artificial intelligence on theology, ethics, and theological education. Led by a diverse team of religious scholars and a former NASA scientist, and moderated by Dr. Kwok Pui Lan, this course provides an overview of AI technologies and their intersection with Christian thought. Participants will examine how AI challenges theological imagination, ethical decision-making, and church ministry practices. Join us to discover how AI can shape, transform, and inspire the future of Christianity, helping faith remain resilient and relevant in our increasingly digital world.

Moderator:

Kwok Pui Lan, Episcopal Divinity School emerita

Speakers:

Tracy J. Trothen, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

Pamela Conrad, Episcopal priest and former NASA scientist

Sarah Bogue, Candler School of Theology

Richard (Bo) Manly Adams, Jr., Candler School of Theology

Boyung Lee, Iliff School of Theology

Continuing Education Units (CEU) are available for this course. There is a processing fee of $25.00, and an Award Letter will be issued once the course has been completed. Please add the CEU Processing Fee at checkout.

Dr. Richard "Bo" Adams Jr. is a New Testament scholar, a software developer, and a librarian who directs the collections, staff, and vision of Candler’s Pitts Theology Library, one of the premier theological libraries in North America. Adams also teaches courses at Candler focused primarily on research methods, the history of reading practices, and the changing tools of ministry in the digital age. His research and teaching interests are in understanding reading communities, reading technologies, and reading practices, both ancient and modern.

Rev. Dr. Sarah Bogue is an assistant professor in the practice of the history of Christianity and director of digital learning in 2020; however, she has worked at Candler and Pitts Theology Library in a number of roles since 2010. While earning her PhD from Emory’s Laney Graduate School, Bogue taught classes at Candler in church history and Latin grammar. Both in the classroom and as a reference and instruction librarian, and later as the head of research and access services at Pitts, Bogue helped students find the connection between academic research and vocational exploration. As the director of digital learning, she played a fundamental role as the school transitioned to online learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rev. Dr. Pamela Conrad is an Episcopal priest and interim rector of Memorial Episcopal Parish in Baltimore, MD. As a scientist and explorer, Conrad holds a research appointment at The Earth & Planets Laboratory of The Carnegie Institution of Science. As both an Episcopal priest and a scientist, she offers a unique perspective on exploration, and she is dedicated to encouraging people to engage both critical thinking and faith to explore all of the wonders of both the material and the spiritual universe. She is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist specializing in understanding how planets do or do not evolve into habitable environments, and she is presently involved in the exploration of Mars with the Perseverance Rover in Jezero Crater. She has explored extreme environments all over the Earth including in the high arctic, Antarctica, Death Valley, and the deep-sea hydrothermal vents of the Pacific sea floor, to name a few, and she has developed technologies for NASA presently functioning on Mars. Conrad also serves as the Warden for the North American Province of The Society of Ordained Scientists, an international contemplative order that supports the ministry of ordained scientists.

Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee, a native of Korea, serves as Professor of Practical Theology at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, which hosts the Artificial Intelligence Institute, known for providing ethical consulting to startups. An ordained United Methodist clergy, Dr. Lee has served in pastoral roles in the United States and Korea. She is the former president of the Religious Education Association and the president of the Pacific, Asian, and North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry (PANAAWTM). Dr. Lee is the author of Transforming Congregations through Community and co-editor of Embodying Antiracist Christianity and the forthcoming volume, Asian/American Transnational Feminist Theologies. 

Dr. Tracy J. Trothen is a professor of interdisciplinary ethics at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario), jointly appointed to the School of Religion and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy. Trothen specializes in spirituality, theology, artificial intelligence, and human enhancement. She co-chairs the American Academy of Religion's Artificial Intelligence Seminar and is a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion. Currently, she is working on a book with Randall Reed on artificial intelligence and things deemed religious.