AI Worship Music Is Here – But Should Christians Be Singing Along?

AI Worship Music Is Here – But Should Christians Be Singing Along?

AI Worship Music: Why Christians Should Care

In partnership with Australian Christian Records, The Daily Declaration shares a monthly Christian music column featuring the official OZ 5 Top Tunes chart, artist stories, new releases, upcoming music events, and local Christian music news. If you have something to contribute, send it to [email protected].

Recommended New Releases:

• Elizabeth Rae – Holy Ground [Album] (NSW) #Worship

• Victor Claye feat. River Movement – Gospel Math (SA) #HipHop

• yvngxzaye! – Eyes 4 Eternity (SA) #HipHop

• Orville Jones – Peace Like a River (SA) #Alt Pop

• Ethan Beer ft. Joe L Barnes – Only One That Matters (QLD) #Pop

More local Christian releases on our Australian Christian Pop Spotify Playlists.

Upcoming Shows:

• Gospel Project – Lucy Sugerman & Jamey Foxton, Aug 15, 22, Sept 5 (NSW, VIC, QLD)

• Stadium – Youth Alive SA feat. Y Shadey, Aug 7-8 (SA)

• Wonderworld – Youth Alive Qld, 21-23 September (QLD)

• Freedom Music Festival (Canberra), October 9-11 (ACT)

August Oz 5 Chart:

TOP TUNES

1. MIRACLE – FOR KING & COUNTRY

2. NEVER TOO FAR GONE – NATHAN TASKER

3. PEOPLE WATCHING – ETHAN BEER

4. HERE COMES THE DAY – JUSTIN MICHAEL

5. BREATHE – ROMA WATERMAN

Compiled by TCM based on Australian Christian radio airplay from the preceding month.

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AI Worship Music: Why Christians Should Care

How do you feel about listening to music that’s been made totally through machine learning? Does it matter if you can’t tell if it was made by a human or AI? Could the lyrics and emotion still resonate with you? Now, what about AI music made to worship God, or spread the Christian message — does it actually matter?

The number one song on Australian radio right now is a remix of Madonna’s ’80s hit ‘Like A Prayer’. Not only has it received way more listens than any song from Madonna’s actual new album, but there were questions being raised that there was no human involved in the singing of the lyrics, and that no-one actually produced the song — it was simply generated.

After much speculation, the human uploader of the song has admitted what many people suspected all along — AI played a significant role in the creation/emulation/simulation of the song.

When I started out producing, I was told the following story of one producer in conversation with another.

Producer A: I want to get back to the heart of making music, and so I’ve decided not to use recorded samples in my music anymore.

Producer B: What about virtual instrumentation?

Producer A: No. Just playing in the keys through midi is not enough. I want my music to be authentic.

Producer B: So you just play acoustic and other non-digital instruments?

Producer A: Well, I started playing the drums, but I realised even the drums have been crafted by someone else, making them not sufficiently a true reflection of my music vision. So I started importing the skins to make the drums myself.

Producer B: Wow, that’s commitment – you are a true musician!

Producer A: Actually, I then realised that even the animal skins have been selected, stretched and cured by a third party, so I thought to go back to the source. Authenticity is key.

Producer B: So how’s your music turning out these days?

Producer A: Well, I don’t have much time to make music these days, looking after my herd of goats and all that.

We could just as easily enter in a line at the start of that story about AI. A new technological innovation comes along, and we begin to question what makes a creation authentic. What did photos do to painters? What did film do to theatre? What is AI doing to music?

Whereas a producer like myself takes between 1-2 months to create a brand new song from scratch, there are now music-generating apps that spit out new songs in just a few seconds. I was speaking with one Christian who recently got into ‘creating Christian music’, who had generated around 5,000 songs in just a few months!

The music industry is very concerned that AI is taking over. Spotify recently admitted that they have deleted over 75 million individual songs off their streaming platform because they were ‘AI slop’ i.e. produced and uploaded by spam bots.

According to global music platform Deezer, 97% of their listeners can’t tell whether a song was produced by AI or not — and that is from a report published (way back) in 2025! The question then becomes whether we even need humans to create good music anymore? Also, as Christians, we need to ask ourselves: how should we be responding to this?

An Impending Decision for Australia:

Firstly, we have to recognise that the ability to generate songs from AI has only come about as a result of countless hours of machine learning. According to The Atlantic’s AI Watchdog, the big AI datasets have trained themselves by listening to famous artists, including Australian acts Cold Chisel, Sia, Hilltop Hoods, and Yothu Yindi, among many, many others.

Naturally, this raises all sorts of ethical arguments as these artists have not received any payment for this use of their music – in fact, it’s safe to say that none of them consented, nor even knew their music was being used for AI training purposes.

According to the Australian Financial Review, this revelation comes at a time while negotiations are presently taking place between Anthropic as the owner of Claude AI, for investment into Australia worth thousands of jobs and an estimated $21 billion — supposedly dependent upon copyright flexibility.

In response, Australia’s national music copyright and royalties collection agency APRA AMCOS has begun a campaign calling for the Australian government to stand up for Australian creatives and enforcing stronger limitations around the use of Australian musical works in AI training models. Some music platforms like Deezer have decided not to make payouts to the uploaders of AI-generated music. At the same time, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has recently announced Australia’s Office of AI on July 15, and I’m sure there would be a lot of lobbying from both sides taking place right now.

A Christian Response:

As a producer, artist manager and label owner, I’m someone who stays well clear of AI music: both in terms of listening to it and platforming it on Australian Christian Records.

While I recognise AI can be a useful internal tool in the music creation process, for example in testing lyrics, I actively discourage the public release of music made by AI, especially when it’s done in a deceptive way that obfuscates the role of AI in the creation of the song, and even more so when this music ‘praises the Lord’.

Here are my key reasons why:

• As Luke says, “even the rocks will cry out”, but in the case of AI music, the output from inanimate machines has only come about through the unethical training of human creative works.

• Moreover, I believe God loves it when the worship we give him costs us something. AI-generated music bypasses not only the act of music creation, but also the countless hours that go into training artists’ skills and honing their craft.

• The Great Commission is for us to complete — not machines. In terms of evangelising and reaching others, I place an ‘artist’ releasing AI-generated Christian music in the same camp as a pastor using text prompts to generate and deliver a sermon.

What Can You Do?

There has never been a time like now, when people are craving authenticity and truth. I think now is the time Christian artists should step up and differentiate themselves from the world. Whether it’s a live performance, behind-the-scenes reel, or a song put up on Spotify, we need to create personal connections using our art to shine a light towards the ultimate truth.

For listeners of Christian music, now is the time, more than ever, to support your local Christian artists. Make a decision whether you will be proactive in your music selection choices, or whether you will let the algorithm passively send ‘good music vibes’ your way.

Further Reading:

Steve Munro from Vision Christian Radio recently published a list outlining 30 clues to help distinguish between AI-generated music and that made by human artists.

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Republished with thanks to Australian Christian Records.

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ODM Daily Commentary

Let’s be honest: AI worship music is coming. It is already here. The question is not whether it exists, but whether Christians should embrace it. And the answer, for those who take their faith seriously, is a resounding no.

The article from Australian Christian Records raises the critical issues. A remix of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ is currently the number one song on Australian radio, and it was largely generated by AI. Spotify has deleted 75 million AI-generated songs. 97% of listeners can’t tell the difference between AI and human-made music. The technology is advancing faster than our ability to discern.

But for Christians, the question is deeper than technical capability. It is about authenticity, sacrifice, and the nature of worship.

The article makes a compelling case. AI music is trained on the works of human artists without their consent or compensation. That is unethical. Moreover, God loves it when our worship costs us something. AI-generated music bypasses the countless hours of practice, skill, and sacrifice that go into creating authentic worship. It is cheap grace in musical form.

The analogy is powerful: an ‘artist’ releasing AI-generated Christian music is like a pastor using text prompts to generate and deliver a sermon. It is hollow. It is empty. It is a simulation of worship, not worship itself.

The Great Commission is for us to complete—not machines. Evangelism is not about efficiency; it is about relationship. It is about the Holy Spirit working through human vessels. AI cannot testify to what God has done in its life. It cannot share a personal testimony. It cannot build genuine connection.

The article calls on Christian artists to differentiate themselves from the world. It calls on listeners to support local Christian artists and to be proactive in their music choices rather than letting algorithms decide. It calls on the Church to value authenticity in an age of simulation.

So here is the challenge: refuse AI worship music. Support human artists. Value the sacrifice and skill that goes into authentic worship. And remember that the worship God seeks is offered in spirit and in truth—not in algorithms.

AI can simulate worship. But it cannot worship. And that makes all the difference.

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Keywords: AI worship music, Christian music, authenticity, Australian Christian Records, AI ethics, worship sacrifice, Great Commission, music industry, AI-generated songs, human creativity, Spotify AI slop, Deezer AI detection, APRA AMCOS, Office of AI, Christian artists, local music support, Oz 5 chart, For King & Country, Nathan Tasker, Ethan Beer