Danish priest warns AI-written sermons could doom the national church

A parish priest in Skive has warned that the Church of Denmark risks its own demise if clergy use artificial intelligence to write their sermons.

Henri Brorson, priest of the Egeris-Estvad-Rønbjerg parish, said sermons must remain authentic, human-to-human communication. “No one comes to church or seeks out a priest to talk to an algorithm,” he told public broadcaster DR.

While Brorson acknowledges AI can produce a “perfectly good sermon in ten seconds,” he believes the church would lose credibility if congregations discovered sermons were AI-generated. He has no direct experience of colleagues using AI for this purpose.

The Danish Clergy Association last year launched its own AI assistant, “Sermon Helper,” trained on years of church guidelines. Director Lars Qvistgaard said the tool is meant as a conversational aid, and authenticity lies in the words spoken by the priest, not the drafting process.

Brorson himself uses AI agents in his own preparatory work, treating them as a shortcut to knowledge rather than a replacement for reflection. “I use them as a sparring partner, then apply my own critical judgment,” he said.