How Religious Beliefs Are Allowing Workers to Opt Out of Artificial Intelligence
New York, Friday, 5 June 2026.
After a software engineer successfully secured a religious exemption from using AI, legal experts warn that a recent papal encyclical could trigger a massive wave of similar workplace opt-outs.
A New Frontier in Title VII Accommodations
In mid-May 2026, a North Carolina-based software engineer named Erin Maus successfully secured a religious exemption from using artificial intelligence at her workplace [1]. This development marks a significant intersection between emerging workplace technologies and federal employment law [GPT]. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers in the United States are required to accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs unless doing so causes an undue hardship on the business [GPT]. The legal threshold for denying such requests was elevated following a landmark 2023 US Supreme Court ruling involving a postal worker’s Sunday shift exemption, making it substantially more difficult for corporations to reject faith-based accommodations [1].
The Papal Encyclical and Expanding Exemptions
The potential for widespread human resources disruption escalated dramatically on May 25, 2026, when Pope Leo XIV published a comprehensive 42,000-word encyclical [1]. The document explicitly warned that artificial intelligence possesses the potential to undermine human dignity and displace workers [1]. Employment lawyers anticipate this high-profile theological stance will serve as a catalyst for a massive wave of faith-based AI exemption requests across the corporate landscape [1]. Michal Shinnar, an attorney at JGL Law, recently highlighted in a Law360 article how the Pope’s comments are poised to create unprecedented challenges for employers navigating religious accommodations as AI integration deepens [2].
Balancing Corporate Strategy with Employee Rights
For corporations aggressively integrating AI to maintain a competitive edge, these exemptions pose a direct challenge to productivity mandates [GPT]. A May 2026 survey conducted by Cornerstone polling 2,000 workers across the US and the UK revealed that nearly one-third—or approximately 666.667 workers—harbor negative feelings toward artificial intelligence [1]. Corporate leadership remains concerned about the long-term impacts of employees rejecting technological advancements. Carina Cortez, chief people officer at Cornerstone, bluntly warned that “opting out today can mean falling behind tomorrow” [1].