Call for papers
Estudios Eclesiásticos
Faculty of Theology
Universidad Pontificia Comillas
(Monographic)
Theology and Artificial Intelligence: A Necessary Dialogue
PROGRAM
Coordinator of the monograph: Gabino Uríbarri Bilbao, SJ (guribarri@comillas.edu)
Language: Spanish and English.
Author guidelines: Maximum length ten thousand words (abstract, keywords, notes and bibliography included). For other details (how to cite, etc.) consult the authors guidelines before writing your article.
Maximum number of articles to be published: eight (8)
Deadline for receipt of articles: January 30, 2026.
Peer review and revision dates: February and March 2026.
Publication date: May 2026.
Topic Description
With the new developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), a new phase has opened in how technology shapes human life. It is now possible to interact with machines in «conversation» mode. Applications are already being used as psychological and spiritual counselors, with success, at least in the short term. In this issue of Estudios Eclesiásticos, we embrace the invitation of the document Antiqua et nova: «It exhorts those entrusted with transmitting the faith (parents, teachers, pastors, and bishops) to dedicate themselves with care to this urgent matter» (n. 5). This appeal is further reinforced by Pope Leo XIV, who affirms: «Today the Church offers everyone its heritage of social doctrine to respond to another industrial revolution and to the developments in artificial intelligence, which bring new challenges in the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor» (May 10, 2025).
We propose a dialogue—which we believe is urgent—between Theology and the new landscape emerging with the spread of Artificial Intelligence among non-specialist technology users. We focus on the realm of emerging dogmatic issues, rather than ethical ones, which are more commonly addressed. Nor do we intend to delve into the possibilities AI offers for theological research or education. What we are raising are properly dogmatic matters and everything surrounding them, which the emergence of AI brings about—whether we like it or not. We propose to address the following areas:
Anthropology. If the human person is defined as rational, and now machines are also considered rational, what then identifies us as human? What does it mean, in the age of AI, to be made «in the image and likeness» of God? If human beings exist in relation, how are we to understand «personal» relationships with machines? If a more intense form of hybridization with intelligent machines becomes unavoidable—far beyond what we already experience with smartphones—what kind of human being is being shaped? What are the potential benefits and drawbacks from a Christian perspective? Is it possible to love a machine? Might intelligent machines one day perform functions similar to those of the human soul?
Eschatology and Soteriology. What future awaits us, and to whom do we entrust it? How does AI impact the shaping of Christian hope? Can we place our trust in intelligent machines? Could machines take over the space reserved for God as the ultimate source of trust and hope? The ever-growing possibilities offered by machines are increasingly experienced as a more tangible and desirable form of salvation than that which faith offers: Will Christian soteriology be further displaced and rendered even more unintelligible in the age of AI?
Ecclesiology and Sacraments. Will virtual communities of believers emerge without face-to-face interaction? Will religious rites take place solely through virtual communication? How might all of this affect the Christian sacraments—their understanding and their practice? What role should be given to the human body in the relationship with God and within the perspective of faith?
God. Will intelligent machines resolve religious questions? Will AI determine the reliability of divine revelation or the content of tradition? Can the machine serve as a medium for access to God? What effect might the growing perception of technology—empowered by AI—as omniscient and omnipotent have on the image of God?
Key words:
Homo technologicus
Revelation in a «Virtual» World
Digital Relationships: Mutuality, Communion, Participation, Consensus
Virtual Communities
Material Body vs. Virtual Reality
Rites in the Digital Age
Authority of AI
Image of God
Estudios Eclesiásticos is a journal that specializes in the area of theological research and information, understanding research as all work that, by contributing something new and properly grounded, can contribute to the scientific progress of Theology. It does not have, therefore, as its direct object the divulgation or the teaching of theology to a merely educated public that is not specially initiated in this discipline or interested in it in a particular way. With genuine research, it deals with current issues. Legitimate theological pluralism will be respected in communion with the ecclesiastical magisterium. Every theological tendency that has the right to exist in the Church may be expressed in the journal.
The contents of Estudios Eclesiásticos are indexed in the following databases, impact indexes, and evaluation systems and digital summaries: Scopus, IBZ Online, PASCAL, Francis, L’Année philologique, Old Testament Abstracts Online, ATLASerials, DIALOG Information Services, Religion Index One (RIO), Index Theologicus, ErihPlus, Carhus+, MIAR, CIRC, Latindex (catalog) and DIALNET.
