Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Religious Experience in Nigeria: A Sociological and Theological Inquiry

Abstract

In recent years, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not only transformed industry, communication, and healthcare, but has also entered the domain of religion raising profound questions about the nature of the sacred and divine mediation. This article investigates the sociological implications of AI in religious settings, focusing on how believers and institutions negotiate the role of intelligent machines in facilitating spiritual encounters. Drawing on Emile Durkheim’s notion of the sacred and profane, Peter Berger’s sacred canopy, and posthumanist thought, the study is grounded in a qualitative, sociological approach. Data were drawn from secondary sources and illustrative case studies in Nigeria’s Christian, Islamic, and African Traditional Religious (ATR) contexts. It explores how AI-powered preachers, prayer bots, and algorithmic devotionals are disrupting traditional models of religious authority and divine communication. The article argues that while AI may democratise access to spiritual resources, it also provokes anxiety about the loss of sacred intimacy and the mechanisation of faith. It concludes by calling for interdisciplinary collaboration between Religious Studies, Sociology, and AI ethics to critically assess the future of the sacred in an age of machine agency.