{"id":1977621,"date":"2026-06-06T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1977621"},"modified":"2026-06-06T11:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T08:00:28","slug":"the-popes-ai-warning-could-help-workers-seek-religious-exemptions-from-using-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1977621","title":{"rendered":"The Pope\u2019s AI Warning Could Help Workers Seek Religious Exemptions From Using AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/shutterstock_2666910201-1200×675.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Pope Leo XIV\u2019s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work.<\/p>\n

One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports.<\/p>\n

Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment company where she works, which she described as progressive. She argued that using AI did not align with her religious beliefs because of environmental and ethical concerns.<\/p>\n

Maus was granted the exemption in May, before the pope\u2019s AI remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,\u201d Maus told Business Insider. \u201cJust two years ago, how else would you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maus is unlikely to be the only person seeking a similar accommodation as companies increasingly invest in AI and push, sometimes even mandate, employees to use the technology. In the U.S., the share of employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work has nearly doubled from 21% to 40% in 2025, according to Gallup.<\/p>\n

Now, the pope\u2019s remarks and official theological document could give some workers a stronger argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,\u201d the pope wrote in his 43,000-word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas, published last month.<\/p>\n

He wrote that AI is dehumanizing society by reducing \u201cthe mystery of the person into data and performance\u201d and called on the tech industry to avoid \u201cthe idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope continued that \u201ca slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.\u201d<\/p>\n

That call for a slower adoption of AI could be enough for some workers to argue they should not be required to use it on the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he\u2019s speaking, he\u2019s speaking as the pontiff\u2014as a religious figure\u2014so he\u2019s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues,\u201d Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and Duane Morris partner, told HR Brew this month. \u201cI think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say\u2026I can\u2019t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work requirement, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not a stretch to think some of these requests could at least get serious consideration. Just a few months ago, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the company of unlawfully denying a remote employee\u2019s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy over religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this opens a door\u2014or it\u2019s a little bit of a road map\u2014for employees to raise concerns,\u201d Segal told HR Brew. \u201cWhat the courts have said\u2014what the EEOC has most definitely said\u2014is that, as the general proposition, we shouldn\u2019t question the legitimacy [of] sincerely held religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Pope Leo XIV\u2019s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work.<\/p>\n

One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports.<\/p>\n

Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment company where she works, which she described as progressive. She argued that using AI did not align with her religious beliefs because of environmental and ethical concerns.<\/p>\n

Maus was granted the exemption in May, before the pope\u2019s AI remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,\u201d Maus told Business Insider. \u201cJust two years ago, how else would you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maus is unlikely to be the only person seeking a similar accommodation as companies increasingly invest in AI and push, sometimes even mandate, employees to use the technology. In the U.S., the share of employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work has nearly doubled from 21% to 40% in 2025, according to Gallup.<\/p>\n

Now, the pope\u2019s remarks and official theological document could give some workers a stronger argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,\u201d the pope wrote in his 43,000-word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas, published last month.<\/p>\n

He wrote that AI is dehumanizing society by reducing \u201cthe mystery of the person into data and performance\u201d and called on the tech industry to avoid \u201cthe idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope continued that \u201ca slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.\u201d<\/p>\n

That call for a slower adoption of AI could be enough for some workers to argue they should not be required to use it on the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he\u2019s speaking, he\u2019s speaking as the pontiff\u2014as a religious figure\u2014so he\u2019s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues,\u201d Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and Duane Morris partner, told HR Brew this month. \u201cI think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say\u2026I can\u2019t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work requirement, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not a stretch to think some of these requests could at least get serious consideration. Just a few months ago, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the company of unlawfully denying a remote employee\u2019s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy over religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this opens a door\u2014or it\u2019s a little bit of a road map\u2014for employees to raise concerns,\u201d Segal told HR Brew. \u201cWhat the courts have said\u2014what the EEOC has most definitely said\u2014is that, as the general proposition, we shouldn\u2019t question the legitimacy [of] sincerely held religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/shutterstock_2666910201-1200×675.jpg”] Pope Leo XIV\u2019s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work. One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports. Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,53],"class_list":["post-1977621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-gizmodo-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1977621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1977621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1977621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1977621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1977621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1977621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}