Artificial intelligence, the technology upending nearly every corner of society, is creeping into religion, serving up virtual Jesus and automated sermons -- a change drawing mixed reviews from the faithful.

Religious chatbots and other faith-based digital tools are growing in number, offering counsel, comfort and spiritual guidance during an age of rapidly transforming socialization and engagement.

One app, which is called Text with Jesus, has thousands of paying subscribers. It lets people ostensibly ask questions of Mary, Joseph, Jesus and nearly all 12 apostles.

The idea is to educate, said Stephane Peter, CEO of Catloaf Software, which created the app.

"This is a new way to address religious issues in an interactive way," he told AFP.

Although the app makes clear it uses AI, virt

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