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Editor's note:
A church in the town of Fürth, Germany, recently experimented with a service during which a sermon prepared by a chatbot was delivered by an avatar on a television screen above the altar. The service was attended by some 300 people.
Many clergy are worried this is what the future might look like if busy religious leaders turn to the likes of ChatGPT for preparing sermons. Preaching is a sacred act with special meaning across faith traditions, with its intent being to offer insights based on human experience.
Joanne Pierce, a specialist in Catholic liturgy and ritual at The College of Holy Cross, argues that chatbots cannot know what it means to experience love or be inspired by a sacred text. “Without that essential element of embodied human awareness, true preaching is simply not possible,” she writes.
Religion News
Many African American SBC churches have women pastors on staff. Will they be expelled next?
A letter from the president of the SBC's National African American Fellowship expressed concerns over recent SBC decisions to bar churches with women pastors. By Bob Smietana/Religion News Service
Court sides with Amish families in case that pits septic tank rules against religious beliefs
Members of a conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water,” the state Court of Appeals rules in a long-running religious freedom case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. By Steve Karnowski/The Associated Press
Hong Kong’s newly named Roman Catholic cardinal says he hopes for reconciliation and wants the city to give young people more hope following the economic downturn and a campaign to crush a pro-democracy movement. By Kanis Leung/The Associated Press
Morocco’s historic Women’s World Cup debut inspires girls even if some in the Arab world ignore it
Morocco’s national women’s team will make its debut this month at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the first to qualify from an Arab world. After years of being largely in the margin in a heavily Muslim country, Moroccan women’s soccer is capturing the imagination of more girls, winning the hearts and minds of more parents and chipping away at a traditional view of soccer as a men’s game. By Mariam Fam/The Associated Press
Father Martin hopes to bring LGBTQ voices in synodal discussions
The Rev. James Martin, an advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in the church, has been tapped by Pope Francis to attend the synod. By Claire Giangravé/Religion News Service
Commentary and Analysis
People sometimes assume religious traditions' ideas about gender have always been conservative and unchanging. By Sarah Imhoff by The Conversation
The faith's association with conservative politics has stayed strong for decades, but could become a liability, a political scientist argues. By David Campbell for The Conversation
One of the gifts that Prime Minister Modi gave to President Biden symbolizes the recipient's having seen 1,000 full moons, implying a long and auspicious life. By Jeffery D. Long for The Conversation
In the fight for equal treatment under the law, one instance of discrimination is too many. By Nirvair Singh/Religion News Service
Exile Tibetan children wait to perform in front of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, unseen, during a function marking the Tibetan leader's 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
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