Key Takeaways
- Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas frames AI as a threat to human dignity, offering a theological basis for workers to claim religious exemptions from AI use.
- Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist software engineer in North Carolina, already secured an exemption to avoid AI‑assisted coding, citing environmental and ethical concerns.
- Gallup data show AI adoption at work rose from 21% to 40% between 2023 and 2025, increasing the pool of employees who may seek similar accommodations.
- Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers must provide reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs unless doing so creates undue hardship.
- Legal experts note that the pope’s statements strengthen the argument that AI conflicts with certain religious worldviews, making exemption requests more likely to be taken seriously by courts and the EEOC.
- Recent settlements, such as Rex Healthcare’s $150,000 payment to resolve a vaccine‑exemption lawsuit, illustrate that employers are already obligated to consider religious accommodation claims.
Background on the Pope’s AI Encyclical
Pope Leo XIV released a 43,000‑word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas last month, in which he warned that artificial intelligence risks reducing “the mystery of the person into data and performance.” He wrote, “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human.” The document calls on the tech industry to avoid “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak” and urges a slower, more conscientious adoption of AI as an exercise of “responsible care for the human family.”
Erin Maus’s Personal Accommodation Request
Erin Maus, a software engineer employed by a progressive tech‑entertainment firm in North Carolina, first sought a religious accommodation in April 2025. She explained that using AI conflicted with her Unitarian Universalist beliefs because of its environmental toll and ethical implications. Maus told Business Insider, “I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say. Just two years ago, how else would you do it?” Her request was granted in May, before the pope’s encyclical appeared, making her one of the first known cases of an AI‑related religious exemption in the private sector.
Growing AI Adoption in the Workplace
The push for AI integration is accelerating across U.S. workplaces. Gallup reported that the share of employees who say they use AI “at least a few times a year at work” jumped from 21% in 2023 to 40% in 2025. As companies increasingly invest in AI tools—sometimes mandating their use—more employees may find themselves at odds with the technology on religious, ethical, or environmental grounds. This rising prevalence creates a larger pool of workers who could potentially seek accommodations similar to Maus’s.
Legal Framework for Religious Accommodations
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 obliges employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs clash with job requirements, unless the accommodation imposes an undue hardship on the business. Employment attorney Jonathan Segal, a partner at Duane Morris, told HR Brew that the pope’s encyclical provides a “stronger argument” for workers claiming AI use violates their faith. He noted, “When he’s speaking, he’s speaking as the pontiff—as a religious figure—so he’s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues.” Segal added that courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) routinely defer to the sincerity of an employee’s belief without probing its validity.
How the Pope’s Words Strengthen Exemption Claims
Segal believes the encyclical could serve as a “road map” for employees seeking exemptions. By framing AI as a threat to human dignity and linking it to theological concerns, the pope’s statements allow workers to argue that using AI conflicts with a sincerely held religious belief. “I think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say… I can’t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have,” Segal said. The EEOC’s precedent—illustrated by the recent Rex Healthcare settlement—shows that employers must seriously consider such claims, paying $150,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging unlawful denial of a religious exemption from a COVID‑19 vaccine mandate.
Precedent from the Rex Healthcare Case
In early 2025, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit accusing the hospital of unlawfully denying a remote employee’s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID‑19 vaccine policy on religious grounds. The settlement underscores the EEOC’s stance that employers cannot lightly dismiss accommodation requests based on religion. Segal pointed out that this case, along with the pope’s encyclical, signals to employers that religious objections to workplace technologies—whether vaccines or AI—must be evaluated with the same seriousness.
Potential Impact on Employers and Policy
If more workers follow Maus’s example, companies may face a rise in accommodation requests that require reassessing AI‑centric workflows, offering alternative tasks, or providing training that aligns with employees’ beliefs. Employers will need to balance operational efficiency with legal compliance, potentially revisiting policies on technology mandates. The papal encyclical adds a moral and religious dimension to the ongoing debate about AI’s role in society, suggesting that the conversation will extend beyond boardrooms into chapels and HR offices alike.
Journalistic note: All quoted passages are drawn directly from the original Business Insider and HR Brew reports cited in the source material.
https://gizmodo.com/the-popes-ai-warning-could-help-workers-seek-religious-exemptions-from-using-ai-2000768283