The Protestant Catechism-Bot has been developed by Professor Seiji Kumagai of Kyoto University’s Institute for the Future of Human and Society. Kumagai has previously developed a Buddhist AI chatbot.
The United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ), the country’s largest Protestant denomination, said it “was not aware of the chatbot’s development.”
“Therefore, the Church has no official view or position about it at this time,” the General Office of the UCCJ told UCA News on Feb. 7 in a written response to a query.
The UCCJ, formed in 1941, has 1,644 churches and about 152,000 members nationwide.
Japan's Protestant Church includes congregations with diverse denominational backgrounds, and so the matter may be left to individual churches unless concerns grow, the statement said.
“If the AI tool arouses significant concern, there is a possibility that the UCCJ will issue an alert to churches.”
Kumagai told UCA News that a specialist in Christian studies was part of the project, “to enable the team to assess the theological accuracy of the chatbot’s responses.”
Kumagai stressed that the chatbot was “a learning aid, not a substitute for clergy.”
Limits of artificial intelligence
While not rejecting technology outright, the Protestant Church body emphasized that artificial intelligence has clear limits in matters of faith.
“There may be an appropriate role, but it is necessary to caution users that artificial intelligence has its limits,” the UCCJ General Office said. “It is not God, nor church, nor minister, nor neighbor.”
It also noted that religious teaching is shaped by context and perspective, raising questions about how doctrine might be presented by a system designed outside church structures.
“Religion is not a set of questions and answers, but a world of thought and context,” the statement said. “There is no middle or neutral position. It is possible that the AI’s design reflects the position of the person who provides the AI tool.”
Even historically established catechisms have their own interpretive challenges, it added, warning that users could be “guided or misguided by an ideological stance concealed within the AI.”
For individual believers, the distinction between information and lived faith remains important.
Ana Tabata, a 35-year-old Christian from Kanagawa who uses AI tools such as ChatGPT in daily life, said she had never heard of a Christian catechism chatbot before but saw limited benefits in it.
“I may use it occasionally as I think it is a great tool when used properly, especially when saving time,” she told UCA News. “It’s great for finding a verse quickly, but not a replacement for prayer.”
“I would still recommend a friend to have a spiritual leader or mature mentor, as AI can sometimes provide biased interpretations,” Tabata said.
Tool, not teacher
The UCCJ response observed that AI may be “useful for introduction purposes….but it should not be relied upon for more than this.”
Kumagai seemed to agree with the Church's view.
Drawing from reactions to the earlier Buddhist AI, he noted that some monks stressed such tools should never become teachers but remain support systems, an approach he hopes Christian leaders would also favor.
Kumagai also hopes such concerns will help shape how the tool is used.
The researchers are currently recruiting members of Japan’s small Christian community, which accounts for about 0.7 percent of the country’s 122.7 million people, to test the system and provide feedback.
Kumagai’s team hopes that responses from clergy and laypeople will help refine both the system’s accuracy and its appropriate role in church life.