Hello Reader,
This is the third edition of OBSERVATORY - PASTORIA's 2026 free monthly newsletter that will help you think through culture, theology, and business to do something new about it.
- Before you read what is below, remember these posts are publicly posted at theobservatory.pastoria.co - please share as widely as you think is helpful :)
This month, let's briefly observe a recent Pew report that about 12% of teens who use AI use it for emotional support. And, that about 16% use AI for casual conversation.
- These are at the low end of things compared to what else teens use AI for - 57% to search for information and 54% to get help for homework, etc.
But, you have to compare it to teen religious behavior to get a cultural, theological sense of things - I want to bring up one statistic from a 2020 Pew report that looked at how teens made moral decisions:
- About 9% of Mainline Protestant teens looked to religious leaders for guidance on that, 13% looked to teachers, and 19% looked to religious teachings and beliefs
It's not an apples to apples comparison - it's 12% of teens in general who use AI who use it for emotional support vs. 9% of Mainline Protestant teens who seek guidance from religious leaders for moral decisions.
- But, it is something when some teens (of any religious identification) use AI for their inner life as much as (or more than) Mainline Protestant teens refer to their religious leader for moral decisions
Therefore, here's what I think this means for religious leaders:
- The "path to discipleship" might be changing
The usual path might be something like: Sunday School > Confirmation > Retreats and Mission Trips > Committee Service, etc.
- But, a parallel path might now be: a Life Experience > AI-powered Reflection > Specialized Church Event > Personalized Discipleship Program
And, that's why I made johnwesley.ai the way that it is...
- You can give it a try here and see if it does anything helpful for you
James from PASTORIA
Chief Product Officer and Co-founder
PASTORIA
