The challenge of communicating faith today

Cristina Errázuriz, Universidad de los Andes – Chile

Reports recently described AI agents forming their own “religion” within hours of interacting on a new AI-only network.  No matter how sci-fi this sounds, it certainly challenges us to reconsider how we communicate our faith in these changing times.

We are living in an age where language is increasingly mediated by machines. Yet the question remains profoundly human: how do we communicate our faith today?

Reflecting on theologian Jutta Burggraf’s writings¹, we can consider these five communication guidelines: 

First, embrace human frailty. Faith is not transmitted by perfection but by honest searching. Doubts, questions, and mistakes need not weaken credibility, they humanize it.

Second, cultivate real openness. Truth is not imposed but discovered together. What allows for real communication is sincerity, not superiority.

Third, listen wholeheartedly. Where AI simulates attention, authentic human listening becomes a rare gift. Caring about what another thinks or longs for is already a form of witness.

Fourth, say what matters most. Faith is not primarily a moral code but the announcement of God’s love and an encounter with Jesus Christ. Start there.

And finally, faith requires a simple and living language. The deepest truths are best expressed plainly through stories and images, while remembering that opening one’s own heart is what touches other people’s hearts the most.

Technology will continue to evolve, and AI can assist us in many ways, but only our humanity -caring, vulnerable, and sincere- can communicate faith in a way that fosters the possibility for a true relationship with Christ.