Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Religious Texts – A Systematic Mapping Study

Abstract

The rapid advancement of technology is profoundly reshaping many aspects of human life. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are emerging as transformative forces, changing how problems are approached and solutions are developed. Given the profound importance of religion and religious texts in individuals’ lives, examining the impact of AI in this domain has become an important area of inquiry. This study presents a comprehensive and objective overview of the application of AI and NLP to religious texts, with a focus on Islamic and Biblical scriptures. A Systematic Mapping Study was conducted following established guidelines to examine the existing body of AI and NLP research related to religious texts. In total, 41 studies were analyzed in relation to two research questions. The findings highlight the limited amount of research on the application of AI to religious texts and discuss the current limitations of AI in this field. The results also indicate that most existing approaches do not yet utilize Large Language Models (LLMs) such as Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), which could potentially address more complex analytical challenges in this area.