Social Science Academic
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026)

Digital Hermeneutics and Religious Authority in the ChatGPT Era: Murtadha Muthahhari’s Perspective

Lilik Riandita (Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan)
Muliadi Muliadi (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam (STAI Sadra) Jakarta)
Luluk Maktumah (Universitas Ibrahimy Sukorejo Situbondo)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence has changed how people access, interpret, and evaluate religious information. This article examines the transformation of religious authority in the ChatGPT era through digital hermeneutics and Murtadha Muthahhari’s epistemological perspective. The study uses qualitative library research with an interpretive-philosophical approach. Primary sources are selected works by Muthahhari, while secondary sources address digital religion, algorithmic mediation, large language models, AI ethics, and contemporary debates on religious authority. ChatGPT outputs are treated as secondary interpretive material, not as authoritative religious sources. The analysis finds that AI produces three interconnected shifts: wider access to religious information, more dialogical and personalized interpretation, and a growing risk that fluency and accessibility will be mistaken for authority. From Muthahhari’s perspective, information processing cannot be equated with religious knowledge because reason, revelation, experience, moral responsibility, and spiritual formation are interconnected. ChatGPT can therefore serve as an epistemic and interpretive aid, but not as an autonomous religious authority. The article proposes a human-in-the-loop model of digital religious literacy in which AI supports exploration and learning, while qualified scholars and users remain responsible for verification, contextual interpretation, normative judgment, and ethical consequences.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

ssa

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Education Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

This journal is published by Institut Agama Islam Sunan Giri Ponorogo and managet by LPPM INSURI Ponorogo twice a year (June an December). The presence of the journal accommodates scientific writings from the academic community, researchers, students, and practices in social and Humanities that have ...