Pope's AI Encyclical Fuels Religious Exemption Claims

A North Carolina software engineer secured a workplace accommodation in May allowing her to avoid using artificial intelligence on religious grounds. The accommodation comes as the share of U.S. employees using AI at work nearly doubled to 40% in 2025 and follows Pope Leo XIV's publication of a 43,000-word encyclical warning that AI threatens human dignity. The case and the papal statement create new reference points for religious exemption claims that employers and workers may invoke in disputes over mandated workplace AI.

Pope's AI Encyclical Fuels Religious Exemption Claims Gizmodo reports that a North Carolina software engineer, Erin Maus, secured a workplace accommodation in May allowing her to avoid using AI at work on religious grounds. Business Insider quoted Maus saying, "I'm writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say." Gizmodo reports that U.S. employee use of AI at work rose from 21% to 40% in 2025. Gizmodo also reports that Pope Leo XIV published a 43,000-word encyclical last month that includes the line "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." Editorial analysis: Public theological statements and documented legal accommodations create new reference points employers, workers, and counsel may invoke in disputes over mandated workplace AI. What happened Gizmodo reports that Erin Maus , a Unitarian Universalist software engineer in North Carolina, requested an accommodation in April and was granted permission in May to avoid using workplace AI on religious grounds. Business Insider quoted Maus saying, "I'm writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say." Gizmodo reports that the share of U.S. employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work rose from 21% to 40% in 2025. Gizmodo reports that Pope Leo XIV published a 43,000-word encyclical last month that includes the passage, "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." Technical details Editorial analysis: The case reported by Gizmodo is not a technical description of specific AI tools or implementations; it concerns workplace use and religious accommodation. For practitioners, the operational effect is that individual contributors may decline to use automation or model-based assists when employers integrate AI into code review, documentation, or other workflows. Companies that deploy AI broadly should expect variation in tool adoption driven by legal and personal-exemption claims rather than technical feasibility alone. Context and significance Editorial analysis: Public statements from a high-profile religious authority and a documented, granted accommodation together create reference points that employees and counsel can cite when asserting religious objections to workplace AI. Business Insider reports legal experts say employers must take AI-related religious objections seriously and that prior court rulings have raised the bar for denying such accommodations. Observed patterns in similar employment-law contexts suggest employers evaluate accommodation requests under existing nondiscrimination and accommodation frameworks, balancing undue hardship against employees' stated beliefs. What to watch Editorial analysis: Observers should monitor three indicators: employer accommodation policies and their revisions to explicitly address AI tools; the frequency of workplace exemption requests citing religious or ethical objections; and relevant court rulings or administrative guidance that interpret how existing religious-accommodation law applies to AI use. For practitioners building or deploying AI in enterprise settings, these developments may affect rollout timelines, compliance checklists, and HR-legal coordination. Bottom line Gizmodo and Business Insider document a concrete, granted religious exemption from workplace AI use and note a recent papal encyclical that criticizes AI's effects on human dignity. Editorial analysis: Together, these items sharpen the legal and cultural context around compulsory AI use at work and are likely to influence employer policies, legal advice, and employee requests going forward. Scoring Rationale The story documents a concrete religious accommodation and cites a major theological critique, creating real legal and HR implications for AI deployment. It is notable for practitioners but not a technical or regulatory sea change. Practice interview problems based on real data 1,500+ SQL & Python problems across 15 industry datasets — the exact type of data you work with. Try 250 free problems /problems