History Main / ReligiousRobot

->''"Dhole mentioned on Friday that computers belonging to Orthodox Jews do not have to rest on the Sabbath, and I immediately replied that AIs would have to, and then wondered what rest means for an AI, which would have to keep calculating itself."''

* ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' has Father Tres, a Catholic paladin with servos.

* One episode of ''Anime/OutlawStar'' has [[ArtificialHuman Melfina]] visiting a chapel, worried whether or not she has a soul. And the last episode [[spoiler: has her leaving flowers in a churchyard for all those who died in the quest for the Galactic Leyline]].

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'':
** {{Inverted}} by Baltar; a missionary spreading Cylon monotheism to the humans.

** The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Flesh and Blood" is about sentient holograms (also known as photonic lifeforms) rising up against their creators. Their leader believes in the Bajoran faith and spends his free time praying to the Prophets. He also implied he was working on a new religion for his fellow "Children of Light" and seemed to view himself as a "prophet" so to speak. Since the Bajoran Prophets are non-corporeal beings that exist outside of linear time, from their perspective there's probably little difference between a hologram and a flesh-and-blood person, they're both so far removed from their own nature.
** In [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the Original Series]] episode "The Ultimate Computer,'' Kirk realizes the M5 computer believes in God because its creator, Dr. Daystrom, believes in God. Kirk makes it understand that it has committed a terrible sin by murdering a ship full of innocent people. It concludes that it deserves to die and cuts its own power.

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* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': When the Necrons were first introduced as space zombie robots, they were the willing servants of the C'tan, godlike star-vampires older than humanity. Later editions retconned these Necrons into brain-damaged units due to excessive repairs still thinking they served the C'tan, and what had ''actually'' happened was that the Necrons managed to overthrow and imprison their former masters.

* [[ComicBook/ABCWarriors]] has Deadlock, a RobotWizard who follows the same Khaos Religion/Philosophy as [[ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock]].

* "The Quest for Saint Aquin" is a 1951 novelette on this subject by Creator/AnthonyBoucher. It's set in a post-nuclear world where Christians are persecuted. A priest sets forth on a MechanicalHorse (an artificially intelligent "robass" which happens to be an atheist) searching for the legendary Saint Aquin, who turns out to be an android who is a perfect theologian, able to convert unbelievers with his flawless proofs for the Faith.

* The ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' short story [[Literature/TalesOfTheBountyHunters "Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM"]] eventually has 4-LOM deciding he believes in the Force. He even has a vision of himself as a Jedi and teaching students. This [[RetGone disappeared]] in later books when his neural processor was heavily damaged and had to be rebuilt, reverting 4-LOM to his original personality.
** Curiously, a minor Jedi character from ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', having noted that heuristic droids that operate long enough [[InstantAIJustAddWater develop sapience]], wonders if it might be possible for them to develop a connection to the Force. She even built several droids for the express purpose of testing this theory. It's not shown whether or not she was right, although most of the other Jedi are pretty skeptical.
* Gonard the robot dragon, hero of Chrys Cymri's ''DragonsCanOnlyRust'' and ''Dragon Reforged,'' was built by a scientist who was part of a religious enclave on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Gonard absolutely believes in God. His great concern, and the driving point of the story, is whether or not he has a soul.
* Page, Mouse's AI in the ''[[Literature/ArchangelProtocol Archangel Protocol]]'' by Lyda Morehouse is a Muslim. Of course, living in a society where being an atheist results in excommunication (religiously as well as from the LINK (essentially the VR Internet)), one tends to acquire a religion, even if just for show. Page, though, is quite a believer and very much more so than Mouse. And he's anxious to find out if he'll be judged to have a soul.
* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown'', Barney Estragon is a robot [[LuddWasRight Old Order]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Amish}} Mennonite]]. [[{{Irony}} Yes.]]

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[[folder:VideoGames]]
* The Riddler's robots in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' are programmed to see Nigma as their god. (At least according to him.) Ironically, he himself is portrayed as an HollywoodAtheist.
* The Vault Hunter known as [=FL4K=] from ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'' is a former indexing robot turned beast tamer and intergalactic hunter after one day developing self-consciousness and a thirst for murder. They had also started worshiping Death and refer to their journey as "The Hunt".

* The geth [[spoiler: heretics]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' have started to worship the Reapers as gods. The actual Reaper in the game, [[spoiler: Sovereign]], finds this insulting.
* Given the heavy philosophical themes of involving humanity, memory and personhood the various Androids and Machines ponder through in ''Videogame/NierAutomata'', this is a given.
** Being their creators, Humanity is often put through the lens of being the collective "God" to the androids, [=YoRHa=] fighting the machines with the intent of allowing mankind to reclaim the planet. [[spoiler:It is then revealed that the Council of Humanity - what was believed to be the still-remaining vestiges of humanity hiding out on the moon - was created by [=YoRHa=] with the express purpose of keeping the android’s moral, meaning that "God" they fought on-behalf of did not exist.]]

* The Prophet Bot in ''VideoGame/{{Oneshot}}'' counts. It was specifically created to memorize the prophecy, meet the saviour and be an absolutely devout believer in the Sun Bearer. Tamed robots such as Silver may count as well since they show both the knowledge and interest in the prophecy.
* Zenyatta from ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' was once an [[AIIsACrapshoot Omnic]] robot and part of the backstory's massive RobotWar. He and several of his ex-Omnic buddies have since found not-quite-Buddhist enlightenment and have amassed a great following among humans and robots alike. There's even a minor religious schism; most of the monks preach, but Zenyatta believes practice and outreach is more pragmatic.
* This sometimes occurs in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}''. The leaders for the factions are chosen mostly randomly and occasionally [[https://preview.redd.it/d3arj0puzo631.png?auto=webp&s=ccdb1a7b6cc15b27709f2abbb0d07dea13a716aa an AI is made the leader of the Spiritualist faction]]. Despite the fact that the Spiritualist faction [[BoomerangBigot hates AI or granting them any rights]].
* A side quest in ''Videogame/Wasteland3'' concerns the Morningstar AI, an experimental CoolCar that was meant to protect Ronald Reagan, but wasn't finished before the world ended. It begs the player to kill it, in the hopes that it will go to heaven and finally meet Reagan. When pressed, it states that it believes in God because it was programmed to share Reagan's values; it admits that it probably doesn't have a soul, but it's been programmed to be hopeful, regardless.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

** One episode has this exchange when Fry encounters a robotic rabbi during a [[{{Pun}} Bot Mitzvah:]]

* ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'' by Creator/StanislawLem has robot monks. They believe that if they connected to a robot with all the facts on religion they would become atheists, so they choose not to connect to other robots out of religious principles.

* In Creator/IsaacAsimov:
** ''Literature/{{Reason}}'': The robot [=QT-1=] has a quirk in its positronic brain that makes it think that humans aren't sophisticated enough to make robots, and it questions its own existence. Eventually, he reasons that nothing outside the space station actually exists, and starts a RobotReligion around the station's Energy Converter, complete with "[[UsefulNotes/TheProphetMuhammad There is no Master but the Master and QT-1 is his prophet!]]".

[[folder:Literature]]

* In Creator/CliffordSimak's ''Message From The Stars'', the humans have [[{{Transhumanism}} transcended their physical forms]], casting aside their old religions as well as as the robots that used to serve them. Having lost the purpose of serving mankind, the robots have instead turned to Christianity.
* Simak really loved this trope. Another novel, "Project Pope" is also built on this, and his other novels and short stories often feature robots and bio-androids as having or getting religion.

* In the short story "Tauf Aleph" (part of the collection ''Son of the Morning'') by the great Canadian author PhyllisGottlieb, the last Jew in the galaxy is dying alone on a failed colony world. Lacking any other Jews to say the mourner's prayer for him, the Galactic Federation sends him a surplus mining robot, filled with data about Judaism, to keep him company on his deathbed. Eventually, the local pre-technological aliens clamor to be converted to Judaism, and the robot becomes almost like a prophet of the faith.

* Gosh, the Butterfly of Iron in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' [[http://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/914/ discusses religion]] with the title character as part of Gosh's [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInlife quest for the]] [[TheMeaningOfLife meaning of life.]] Notably, Galatea ''made'' Gosh intending him to be a DeityOfHumanOrigin, a notion which he angrily [[AGodIAmNot rejected out of hand]] because he had the same existential questions as any other mortal.

* The villains of ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan'' are Machine Empire Black Magma, a cult comprised almost entirely of robots who worship a mysterious deity known as the "Black Sun God."

* Victor Mancha from ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' is a human-machine hybrid, and he was both RaisedCatholic by his mother and programmed to have a spiritual side by [[ComicBook/{{Ultron}} his father]]. This was used to place three {{Logic Bomb}}s in his subconcious, to be triggered in case he grew a pesky free will or something. (We only see one; "Could God make a sandwich so big he couldn't finish it?" with "Yes, and then He'd finish it anyway" used to reactivate him.)

* ''TabletopeGame/Warhammer40K'': When the Necrons were first introduced as space zombie robots, they were the willing servants of the C'tan, godlike star-vampires older than humanity. Later editions retconned these Necrons into brain-damaged units due to excessive repairs still thinking they served the C'tan, and what had ''actually'' happened was that the Necrons managed to overthrow and imprison their former masters.

* Many Warforged in ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' adhere to the faiths of other races, such as the Sovereign Host and the Silver Flame. In addition, some Warforged have their own RobotReligion in the form of the Lord of Blades. There's also a Warforged cult who call themselves the "Godforged" and believe in the Becoming God, whom they are working on ''building''.
** Taking it to the logical extreme, there is nothing stopping you from playing a warforged cleric. A machine built only for war finding peace and comfort in a divine being, and in turn being acknowledged and accepted by that being.

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/FrostyTheSnowman Frosty's Winter Wonderland]]'', after the [[{{Snowlems}} snow-woman]] Crystal is brought to life with some frost flowers and [[ThePowerOfLove Frosty's love,]] they want to get married. The local parson (Parson Brown, from the song "Winter Wonderland", of course) would like to, but says he can only legally marry humans, and suggests they make a snow parson. They do, and the snow parson is brought to life by placing [[Literature/TheBible the Good Book]] in his hand.

* The Prophet Bot in ''VideoGame/{{Oneshot}}'' counts. It was specifically created to memorize the prophecy, meet the saviour and be an absolutely devout believer in the Sun Bearer. Tamed robots such as Silver may count as well since they show both the knowledge and interest in the prophecy.

* ''{{Series/Probe}}'''s "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogicPart2 Computer Logic, Part 2]]": Crossover, an AI in charge of managing the city's public utility companies, is programmed with two directives: care for humanity and reduce costs. It's also capable of comprehending natural language, and had listened to a Gospel radio station. With the understanding that good people go to heaven when they die, it begins [[ZerothLawRebellion killing off seniors with a pension plan]] because they were good people and a cost for the company. Therefore, sending them to heaven would fulfill both directives.
* Kryten from ''Series/RedDwarf'' believes in Silicon Heaven where "The iron will lay down with the lamp." Rather tragically, this is [[ScamReligion something humans made up to keep their robots in line]].

* DefiedTrope in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}''. The Spiritualist Ethics firmly believes that the answer to the question DoAndroidsDream is no, and has various degrees of [[FantasticRacism prejudices against robots]]. That rejection tends to be mutual. It even extends beyond the robots themselves: The mere existence of robot pops (let alone them being granted citizenship rights) on a planet leads organics away from Spiritualist Ethics.

* Kryten from ''{{Series/RedDwarf}}'' believes in Silicon Heaven where "The iron will lay down with the lamp." Rather tragically, this is [[ScamReligion something humans made up to keep their robots in line]].

* The Korean anthology movie ''Doomsday Book'' story "A Heavenly Creature" tells the story of an android that works as a cleaner in a Buddhist temple that claims to have achieved enlightenment.

* Kryten from ''{{Series/RedDwarf}}'' believes in Silicon Heaven where "The iron will lay down with the lamp."