In Texas, a born-again local commission member cites Scripture to rail against data centers’ consumption of water and power. In Indianapolis, a coalition of Black pastors paid for billboards protesting generous tax breaks for a proposed data center. And in rural Louisiana, a Southern Baptist congregation sees the influx of data center construction workers as an opportunity to win souls.
Amid growing bipartisan backlash to data centers and warnings that AI could “kill us all,” many religious Americans are grappling with the technology’s effects on their spiritual communities as well as their backyards.
Some pastors have embraced AI, using it to translate their sermons and set up Scripture-citing chatbots, but others worry that the giant data centers powering the computing boom could unleash harm. Religious leaders have spoken out against the technology’s drain on natural resources as violating tenets around protecting the Earth. Others fear spiking electricity bills transgress the principles of caring for one’s community. And some see the rise of AI as drawing one step closer to end times, or the escalating events that some Christians believe will accompany Jesus’ return.
