As automation reshapes workplaces across Canada, religious communities find themselves navigating unfamiliar ethical territory. The question of how artificial intelligence aligns with Christian perspectives on work, vocation, and human dignity has moved from theological classrooms to Sunday sermons and kitchen tables.
“Our understanding of work as a divine calling is being challenged,” explains Reverend Margaret Howells from St. James Anglican Church in St. Catharines. During a recent community forum, Howells noted how her congregation increasingly raises concerns about technology replacing meaningful employment. “These aren’t just economic anxieties—they’re spiritual ones.”
The tension emerges from deeply rooted Christian traditions that view work as more than economic necessity. For centuries, Christian teaching has positioned meaningful labor as participation in God’s creative order and a pathway to personal fulfillment. Statistics Canada reports that approximately 63% of Canadians identify with Christianity, making this theological struggle particularly significant in our national conversation about technological change.
At Brock University’s Centre for Ethics, Dr. Thomas Klassen has been studying this intersection of faith and technology. “Christian communities are wrestling with whether AI enhances human potential or diminishes it,” he told me during our interview at his campus office. “When automation eliminates jobs, it’s not just about lost paycheques but potentially lost purpose.”
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry and Technology heard similar concerns during recent hearings. Representatives from both Catholic and Protestant organizations testified about ethical frameworks for AI deployment that respect human dignity—a concept deeply embedded in Christian theology.
In Hamilton’s industrial corridor, Pastor James Wilson of Cornerstone Community Church has seen the impact firsthand. “Our congregation includes manufacturing workers whose jobs have been partially automated,” he explained. “They wonder if their work still matters in God’s eyes when machines handle more of it.”
Wilson’s church has responded by hosting monthly discussions where theology meets technology. “We’re trying to develop a contemporary theology of work that accounts for AI without abandoning traditional values,” he said. The conversations often return to Genesis, where work appears as both blessing and burden.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett, who represents a riding with significant Christian constituencies, believes political leadership has been lacking. “The government needs to consider spiritual dimensions of economic transition, not just retraining programs,” he said during a recent constituency meeting in Eastern Ontario.
The Canadian Council of Churches, representing 26 denominations, published a position paper last month calling for “AI development that enhances rather than replaces meaningful human contribution.” The document, endorsed by leaders from Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions, specifically cites the Christian understanding of work as “co-creation with God” rather than mere productivity.
Data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests this isn’t merely an academic concern. Their recent survey found that 47% of practicing Christians express significant worry about AI’s impact on work-life meaning, compared to 34% of non-religious respondents.
Father Raymond de Souza, a Catholic priest and commentator, puts it bluntly: “When we talk about ‘workers being replaced,’ Christians hear ‘persons being displaced’—not just economically but ontologically.” This perspective challenges the purely efficiency-driven arguments for automation that dominate corporate boardrooms.
The theological questions become practical in places like Niagara’s wine country, where some vineyards now use AI for harvesting decisions. Mennonite farmer John Enns uses automated systems but maintains boundaries. “Technology serves us, not the other way around,” he explains while walking through rows of Riesling grapes. “Our faith teaches that human hands should remain connected to God’s creation.”
These conversations extend beyond church walls. At McMaster University’s Divinity College, enrollment in courses examining technology ethics has doubled in three years. “Students aren’t just asking if AI is moral,” says Professor Ellen Richards. “They’re asking if it allows humans to fulfill their God-given purpose through meaningful work.”
For government policymakers, these faith-based perspectives present a challenge. The Liberal government’s national AI strategy focuses primarily on economic competitiveness and regulatory frameworks, with little acknowledgment of spiritual dimensions that matter deeply to many Canadians.
NDP critic Brian Masse argues this represents a blind spot. “Economic transitions affect whole persons, including their sense of purpose and community,” he noted during committee proceedings. “Faith perspectives should be part of our policy conversations.”
Back in St. Catharines, Reverend Howells has initiated what she calls “vocational discernment groups” where parishioners reflect on finding meaning when traditional work changes. “Christians have navigated technological change before,” she reminds her congregation. “From the printing press to the assembly line, we’ve had to discern what remains essentially human.”
The challenge may be particularly acute for young believers. Emily Simmons, a 24-year-old software developer and active church member, straddles both worlds. “I create AI systems by day and then attend Bible studies where we question their impact by night,” she says. “It’s complicated, but my faith helps me consider the ‘why’ behind the technology, not just the ‘how.'”
As Canada’s religious and technological landscapes continue evolving, these conversations will likely intensify. The questions raised aren’t simply about preserving jobs but about preserving a vision of human dignity rooted in centuries of religious thought.
For Christians navigating this territory, the ancient biblical wisdom to “work with your hands” takes on new meaning when those hands increasingly operate keyboards rather than plows—or when algorithms begin replacing both.
