Problem: Shortage of Pastors—Solution: Religious Robots?

Tretter M (2023)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Book chapter / Article in edited volumes

Publication year: 2023

Publisher: IOS Press

Edited Volumes: Social Robots in Social Institutions. Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022

Series: Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications

City/Town: Amsterdam, Berlin, Washington

Book Volume: 366

Pages Range: 760–766

ISBN: 978-1-64368-374-4

URI: https://ebooks.iospress.nl/volume/social-robots-in-social-institutions-proceedings-of-robophilosophy-2022

DOI: 10.3233/FAIA220689

Abstract

Many Christian churches around the world are struggling with a shortage of pastors—leading to long vacancies in some parishes and posing great challenges for pastors who have to fill in these gaps. This raises the question of whether pastoral shortage could be solved technologically by providing each vacant parish with social robots that could take over the religious tasks and replace lacking human workforce. Based on a comprehensive literature review on social robots in religious contexts, I provide an overview of robots that already perform religious acts around the world and consider the discussions that arise about them. From these considerations, I conclude that social robots cannot and should not (yet) replace human pastors. However, they can assist human pastors and thereby address and mitigate the negative effects of the pastor shortage in some ways.

Authors with CRIS profile

Max Tretter Lehrstuhl für Systematische Theologie II (Ethik)

How to cite

APA:

Tretter, M. (2023). Problem: Shortage of Pastors—Solution: Religious Robots? In Hakli, Raul Mäkelä, Pekka Seibt, Johanna (Eds.), Social Robots in Social Institutions. Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022. (pp. 760–766). Amsterdam, Berlin, Washington: IOS Press.

MLA:

Tretter, Max. "Problem: Shortage of Pastors—Solution: Religious Robots?" Social Robots in Social Institutions. Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022. Ed. Hakli, Raul Mäkelä, Pekka Seibt, Johanna, Amsterdam, Berlin, Washington: IOS Press, 2023. 760–766.

BibTeX: Download