Russell Moore Urges Christians to Take Pope Leo's AI Warnings Seriously
Christianity Today editor Russell Moore says Christians should pay close attention to Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical on artificial intelligence. The pope warned that AI risks making humans more machine-like and called for global regulation to protect human dignity. Moore argues the church has a responsibility to shape how AI is used, not just react to it.
Russell Moore, editor in chief of Christianity Today, published a column this week urging Christians to take seriously the warnings Pope Leo XIV issued in his encyclical on artificial intelligence.
Pope Leo XIV released the document, titled Magnifica Humanitas, in May 2026. It called on governments and technology companies to regulate AI in ways that protect human dignity and labor. The pope specifically warned that AI systems, if left unchecked, risk reducing human beings to machine-like roles, stripping away creativity, moral agency, and meaningful work.
Moore wrote that while Protestants and Catholics differ on many theological points, the pope's concerns about AI deserve a serious hearing from all Christians. "The question of what it means to be human is not a Catholic question or a Protestant question," Moore wrote. "It is a question the church has always been called to answer."
John Lennox, a mathematician and Christian apologist at Oxford University, has raised similar concerns. Lennox has argued publicly that AI tools risk encouraging human laziness and dependency, and that Christians should think carefully about which tasks they delegate to machines.
The encyclical has drawn wide attention beyond religious circles. Technology policy experts in Brussels and Washington cited it in ongoing debates about AI regulation. The European Union is currently preparing new enforcement actions under its AI Act.
Moore stopped short of calling for a ban on any specific AI technology. He said the church's role is to ask hard questions about purpose and human flourishing, and to hold both governments and corporations accountable when those values are ignored.
