National Seminar to Explore AI and Religion at Bengaluru

BENGALURU, July 18, 2026: United Theological College (UTC), Bengaluru, and the National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre (NBCLC) will jointly organise a two-day National Research Seminar titled 'AI and Religion: Intersectional Explorations' on 2–3 September 2026 at the United Theological College, Bengaluru. Organised in collaboration with institutes of higher education in Bengaluru, the seminar will explore the intersections of Artificial Intelligence (AI), religion, ethics, spirituality and human flourishing.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming communication, healthcare, education, economics and several other aspects of human life. While advances such as large language models, chatbots and data-driven technologies have created new opportunities, they have also raised important questions about religion, ethics, spirituality and the future of humanity. The seminar aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform to examine these opportunities and challenges while fostering dialogue towards a just, harmonious and compassionate world.

The discussions will explore how AI is reshaping religious life through digital religious communities, virtual religious practices and the changing character of religious texts. They will also address broader issues concerning morality, justice, truth, human dignity, ecological responsibility and the evolving relationship between artificial and human intelligence, including the implications of future developments in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Researchers are invited to submit 250-word abstracts in English, with selected authors invited to submit research-based full papers. Abstracts should be emailed to [nbclresearch@gmail.com](mailto:nbclresearch@gmail.com) by 31 July 2026, while selected participants will be notified of acceptance on 5 August 2026.

The seminar is open to faculty members, researchers, doctoral scholars, postgraduate students, independent scholars and professionals interested in AI, ethics and religion.

Participating institutions include Christ University, St. Joseph College of Commerce, Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, St. Peter's Pontifical Institute, Kristu Jyoti College, the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS), St. Joseph's University, Sampurna Montfort College, Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Science, SAIACS and NBCLC.

The seminar will invite research on a wide range of themes, including religious experiences in the age of AI, digital religion and virtual religious communities, changing religious texts, spirituality, interreligious dialogue, AI and human intelligence, ethical capabilities of AI, autonomous weapon systems, jurisprudence, deep seek and deep fake technologies, psychological wellbeing, social media addiction, environmental care, the ecological costs of AI infrastructure, consumerism, data colonialism, increasing automation and unemployment, and the works of leading writers on AI and religion, including Yuval Noah Harari, Robert Geraci, David Noble and Ray Kurzweil.

The seminar will be held under the theme 'AI and Religion: Intersectional Explorations', with the message: "May wisdom guide our technology, and compassion shape our future."

By Catholic Connect Reporter