Executive Summary
This document surveys formal statements and positions articulated by major world religious organizations and leaders regarding smartphone technology’s role in human life, with particular emphasis on device-specific harms independent of content consumption. The period since the original survey has seen significant developments: the death of Pope Francis (April 2025) and the election of Pope Leo XIV, who explicitly chose his papal name to signal engagement with technology’s social disruption [1]; the passage of Israeli legislation in July 2024 cementing ultra-Orthodox rabbinical authority over kosher phone infrastructure [2]; the emergence of India’s “FaithTech” sector as a multi-billion-dollar industry [3]; and in July 2024, multi-faith leaders gathering in Hiroshima to sign the Rome Call for AI Ethics [4].
I. Catholic Church
Pope Francis (d. April 21, 2025)
Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday 2025 after a twelve-year pontificate [5], articulated the most comprehensive Western religious position on smartphones before his death.
Mass and Worship Disruption
In November 2017, Francis issued one of his most direct criticisms of smartphone use during Mass, stating that it upset him to see mobile phones raised during his celebrations, including by priests and bishops. He emphasized that Mass was an encounter with the Passion and Resurrection, not a spectacle for recording [6, 7]. Philippine bishops subsequently supported this position, with Bishop Arturo Bastes urging churchgoers to refrain from using mobile devices during liturgy [8].
Smartphone Abstinence for Indulgences (2025 Jubilee Year)
The 2025 Jubilee Year’s Decree on the Granting of Indulgences, issued May 2024, included smartphone and social media abstinence among the recognized forms of penance. The decree specified that the faithful could obtain the Jubilee plenary indulgence through acts of penance including “abstaining, in a spirit of penance, at least for one day of the week from futile distractions,” explicitly naming “virtual distractions, for example, the use of the media and/or social networks” [9, 10]. This represented the first formal integration of smartphone fasting into Catholic sacramental practice.
Children and Smartphone Protection
In a 2018 address to technology executives from major firms including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google, Francis raised concerns about inadequate protections against children’s exposure to pornography via mobile devices, noting that the average age of first exposure was falling [11]. He called for companies to assume responsibility for minors’ integrity and future [11].
Pope Leo XIV (elected May 8, 2025)
Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost), the first American-born pope, explicitly chose his papal name to signal his central concern with technology. He told Cardinal Chomalí shortly after his election that he was “very concerned about the cultural shifts we are living through, a Copernican revolution really—artificial intelligence, robotics, human relationships,” and that he was inspired by Leo XIII, who led the Church’s response to the Industrial Revolution [1]. In his first address to the College of Cardinals, Leo XIV stated that his choice of name was meant to offer “the treasury of [the Church’s] social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor” [1].
Digital Mission and AI Ethics
On July 29, 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed Catholic Digital Missionaries and Influencers at the Vatican, urging them to foster authentic human connections in online spaces [12]. On November 7, 2025, in a message to the Builders AI Forum at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Leo XIV stated that artificial intelligence should support the Church’s evangelization mission and urged Catholic technologists to build systems aligned with truth and beauty [13]. On December 5, 2025, addressing a conference on AI and the common home, Leo XIV warned that access to vast data should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning, and that young people must be helped rather than hindered in their relationship with new technologies [14].
Continuity and Departure
Where Pope Francis focused on smartphone-specific behavioral regulation (abstinence during Mass, digital fasting for indulgences), Pope Leo XIV has oriented Catholic engagement toward a broader structural critique of the technology industry, framing it as a successor to the Industrial Revolution’s displacement of labor and community [1]. His October 2025 apostolic letter “Drawing New Maps of Hope” called for integrating AI literacy into Catholic education [12].
Australian Catholic Bishops’ Position (2024)
A June 2024 submission from the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, signed by Archbishop Peter Comensoli, advocated for social media companies to be held legally accountable for preventing children’s access to harmful content and supported Australia’s 2024 law raising the social media minimum age to 16 [15].
Vatican AI Document “Antiqua et Nova” (2025)
The Vatican’s January 2025 document “Antiqua et Nova,” approved by Pope Francis before his death, addresses challenges that digital technology poses for children’s development and calls for careful regulation of AI, while framing technology as part of God’s plan for creation [16, 17].
Multi-Faith Rome Call for AI Ethics (2024 Hiroshima Extension)
In July 2024, representatives from many of the world’s major faiths gathered in Hiroshima, where sixteen new signatories added their names to the Rome Call for AI Ethics—an agreement calling for responsible AI development [4]. The Catholic Church was instrumental in convening this initiative.
II. Anglican Communion
Church of England Digital Infrastructure Position
The Church of England signed a 2018 accord with the UK government to support mobile phone infrastructure in churches, particularly serving poorly connected rural areas, viewing “equality of digital access” as consistent with its mission of service [18]. The Church consulted the WHO and Cancer Research UK regarding health concerns about mobile signals, concluding that the scientific evidence indicated it was unlikely that phones could increase cancer risk [18].
Safety and Safeguarding Protocols
Anglican safeguarding guidance has focused on appropriate smartphone use boundaries. The Diocese in Europe requires Chaplaincy Council approval for social media and mobile phone use by church officers and mandates dedicated work phones that can be switched off outside working hours [19].
III. Jewish Traditions
Ultra-Orthodox “Kosher Phone” System
Rabbinical Committee for Communications
The Ultra-Orthodox community maintains the most restrictive formal smartphone position through the Rabbinical Committee for Communications, which partners with Israel’s major cellular providers to offer “kosher phones”—devices stripped of internet access, messaging, and other features [20]. These phones use distinctive area code prefixes (e.g., 050-41, 052-71) making their restricted nature immediately identifiable within the community, and function as social markers: parents are expected to provide kosher numbers when enrolling children in educational institutions [2, 21].
Kosher phones exist in two varieties: extremely basic devices limited to voice calls, and smartphones retrofitted with community-installed filters blocking social media, web browsing, and other applications deemed incompatible with ultra-Orthodox life [22].
2022–2024 Israeli Policy Conflict
In 2022, Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel implemented reforms enabling kosher phone subscribers to retain their numbers when switching to unrestricted providers—effectively undermining the social identification system. This provoked intense ultra-Orthodox opposition, including riots and arson attacks on electronics stores in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak [20].
In January 2023, new Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi reversed Hendel’s reforms after meeting with Haredi party faction heads, framing his approach as maintaining “respectful” dialogue rather than forcing lifestyle changes on the community [23].
On July 25, 2024, the Knesset passed legislation in a 60-53 vote that formally cemented the kosher phone system in law, rolling back consumer protections to give carriers legal grounds to maintain restricted plans and granting Haredi institutions the ability to verify that individuals are using approved devices [2]. Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri stated that “for the first time, the law recognizes the public’s right to kosher communication” [2]. The law also required carriers to maintain access to government hotlines and emergency numbers, partially addressing longstanding criticism that kosher plans had blocked access to domestic violence and LGBTQ support lines [2, 24].
Dual-Phone Culture
Despite the system’s apparent success, a parallel culture of dual-phone usage persists. A Haredi businessman from Bnei Brak told The Times of Israel he was “one of thousands of Haredim who keep a kosher phone for communal purposes and a non-kosher one as well” [21].
Infrastructure Preservation
Ultra-Orthodox political parties have also sought to delay the phase-out of 2G and 3G cellular networks in Israel, as many kosher phones—typically older devices—run only on these networks [25]. United Torah Judaism faction chairman Yitzhak Pindrus stated: “Having phones that are only for picking up and calling, instead of having access to the Internet and all the rest, is very important for us, for our homes, for our education, and that’s why we’ll do anything for that to happen” [25].
Conservative Judaism Digital Adaptations
The Conservative movement has ruled that livestreaming on Shabbat and holidays is permitted, with caveats that video systems cannot be set up on Shabbat itself [26]. This represents accommodation to digital technology while preserving core Sabbath observance.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism has shown the most liberal approach to smartphone integration, consistent with its philosophy of adapting Jewish practice to contemporary circumstances, using smartphones extensively for worship, education, and community building [26].
IV. Buddhism
Dalai Lama’s Position
In his 2013 address at Chiba Institute of Technology, the Dalai Lama acknowledged that technology “has made our lives easier, but also busier as people pay attention to their mobile phones,” cautioning that from a Buddhist practitioner’s perspective, excessive involvement with sensory activities distracts from “our special human faculty; our intelligence” [27]. He has also warned more broadly that “without technology humanity has no future, but we have to be careful that we don’t become so mechanised that we lose our human feelings” [28].
In December 2017, the Dalai Lama launched an iPhone app for accessing live teachings and official news, though the app was unavailable on Apple’s China app store [29].
Panchen Rinpoche’s Smartphone Warnings (2023)
The Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu (Panchen Rinpoche), called on monks during November 2023 monastery visits in the Xizang autonomous region to reduce their dependence on electronic devices during daily religious practices. China Daily reported that in the preceding two years, Panchen Rinpoche had referred multiple times to how Tibetan Buddhist monks should view the convenience of mobile phones for studying scripture alongside their potential for distraction [30].
Monastic Smartphone Policies
Buddhist monasteries demonstrate highly varied smartphone policies. Strict forest monasteries like Wat Pah Nanachat instruct visitors: “Please do not bring electronic gadgets like mobile phones, portable computers, tablets, cameras, etc. with you, or lock them away in the monastery safe. These things create a worldly atmosphere which impinges on the simple, meditative lifestyle in the monastery” [31].
In Thich Nhat Hanh’s communities, monks are not allowed to access the internet independently [32]. At other monasteries, smartphones are accepted for practical purposes. A Burmese monk named Ven Nandaka (Unan), who uses Facebook and email for education, has noted that “as a rule Buddhist monks are really inappropriate to be keeping a cell phone and keeping a computer. It’s for high-class people,” but argues information technology is a gateway for education [33].
Digital Addiction Among Monastics
The documentary “Sing Me a Song” (2020) chronicles how smartphones transformed life at a remote Bhutanese monastery after internet access was introduced in 1999. Young monks became absorbed in video games and social media, with one monk stating “I’m too far from the Buddha now” [34].
Buddhist Intellectual Engagement with the Attention Economy
In a June 2025 article in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the attention economy was framed as a manifestation of Mara—the Buddhist personification of temptation—with tech companies described as “Mara’s henchmen, helping him in a million subtle and not so subtle ways to pull us back toward base impulses.” The article highlighted the overlooked canonical practice of “guarding the senses” (indriya-samvara) as directly applicable to smartphone use [35].
V. Hinduism
Theological Integration: “Dharm is Technology”
Research on Hindu renouncers (sadhus) in North India has documented the “theologizing” of smartphones and communication technologies as aligned with dharma. One female sadhu was photographed using her mobile phone during a yajña (sacrificial) ceremony establishing new deity-images in a village temple [36].
Smartphones as Sacred Tools
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hindu communities reframed smartphones, laptops, and mobile applications as “sacred tools” necessary for religious practice, alongside traditional tools like mala (rosary) and murti (sacred image) [37]. The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London (Neasden Temple) streams religious assemblies with thousands of participants viewing on smartphones [37].
The “Digital Maha Kumbh” (2025)
The 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj was officially branded the “Digital Maha Kumbh” by the Indian government, representing the most extensive technological integration at a Hindu religious event. The festival deployed AI-powered facial recognition, 2,760 CCTV cameras, and crowd-counting software to manage an estimated 400 million visitors [38]. This marks a significant departure from earlier Hindu hesitancy about technology at sacred gatherings.
India’s FaithTech Sector
India’s spiritual technology ecosystem has grown substantially. According to IMARC Group, India’s religious and spiritual market was valued at $65 billion in 2024 [3]. FaithTech startups raised $51 million in 2023, a dramatic increase from $5 million in 2022 [39]. Platforms such as AppsForBharat offer virtual temple darshan, AI-powered “Guruji” assistants for ritual guidance, and digital pooja booking [3]. These developments reflect a trajectory far beyond theological accommodation—Hinduism is generating a commercial smartphone-religion interface at industrial scale.
VI. Islam
Imam Shadee Elmasry: “Weapon of Mass Distraction”
Imam Shadee Elmasry of the New Brunswick Islamic Center in New Jersey has articulated one of the sharpest device-specific critiques from any Muslim leader, characterizing smartphones as “weapons of mass distraction” that are “spiritually killing us” [40]. In 2016, Elmasry switched from a smartphone to a flip phone during Ramadan after experiencing physical symptoms—dizziness and illness—from constant connectivity [40].
Ramadan Digital Detox Practices
Ramadan digital detox has become institutionalized across Islamic communities. Maha Elgenaidi, executive director of Islamic Networks Group, reduced social media from two hours daily to one hour weekly by deleting apps from her phone, characterizing her previous use as “like eating candy all the time” [40].
In 2025, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare published formal clinical guidance on reducing screen time during Ramadan, citing research showing that even short digital detoxes of 24–48 hours were linked to lower stress and improved mood. The guidance recommended phone-free prayers, screen-free mealtimes, and prioritizing digital detox during the last ten nights of Ramadan [41]. IslamOnline published a parallel guide in March 2025 proposing “digital seclusion” (a complete offline period with all devices switched off) as a parallel to itikaf—the traditional practice of physical seclusion for worship [42].
Paradox: Ramadan as Peak Digital Engagement
Counterintuitively, Ramadan is also one of the highest periods of smartphone engagement globally. In the METAP region (22 Muslim-majority countries), shopping app installs grew 28% during Ramadan 2024 compared to the annual average, with the UAE seeing a 126% increase [43]. App session lengths increase substantially during the holy month, with peak engagement windows occurring after iftar (48% of users) and after Taraweeh prayers (38%) [43]. This creates a pronounced tension between the spiritual discourse of smartphone detox and the commercial reality of intensified smartphone use.
AI-Enhanced Fatwa Systems
Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta operates FatwaPro, an AI-powered smartphone application providing Islamic legal guidance globally. The platform has issued thousands of fatwas, with inquiries averaging fifteen daily [44].
VII. Cross-Religious Themes
Common Device-Specific Concerns
Across all traditions surveyed, four device-specific harms recur independently of content:
Attentional fragmentation during worship. Pope Francis on phones during Mass [6]; the Dalai Lama on sensory distraction from intelligence [27]; Imam Elmasry on phones as “weapons of mass distraction” [40]; Panchen Rinpoche on monks reducing phone dependence [30]; the Tricycle framing of the attention economy as Mara [35].
Dependency and compulsive use. Buddhist monastic addiction documented in “Sing Me a Song” [34]; Imam Elmasry’s physical symptoms from overuse [40]; the dual-phone culture among Haredim [21]; Maha Elgenaidi’s self-described compulsive social media use [40].
Erosion of embodied community. Ultra-Orthodox preservation of face-to-face communal life through device restriction [22]; Islamic emphasis on phone-free family meals at iftar [41]; Pope Leo XIV’s concern that smartphones attack “our ability to quiet our mind and pay attention to the physical reality around us—including the full reality of another person” [1].
Children’s developmental vulnerability. Pope Francis on children’s exposure via smartphones [11]; Pope Leo XIV on young people needing help not hindrance with technology [14]; Australian Catholic bishops’ advocacy for social media age limits [15]; the Vatican’s “Antiqua et Nova” on children and digital technology [16].
Regulatory Strategies
Religious regulatory responses fall into four categories:
Technological modification: Ultra-Orthodox kosher phones (device-level restriction), now legislatively entrenched in Israel [2].
Temporal restriction: Sabbath prohibitions [26]; Ramadan digital fasting [40, 41, 42]; weekly smartphone abstinence for Catholic Jubilee indulgences [9].
Spatial boundaries: Prohibitions during Mass/worship [6]; monastic phone bans [31]; confessional privacy concerns [45].
Structural engagement: Pope Leo XIV’s framing of technology as requiring a new social teaching [1]; India’s FaithTech commercialization of smartphone-religion integration [3]; multi-faith Rome Call for AI Ethics [4].
Conclusions
Since the original survey, the landscape has shifted in three notable directions. First, the Catholic Church’s engagement has escalated from behavioral regulation under Francis to structural critique under Leo XIV, who has framed the smartphone/AI revolution as requiring the same institutional response the Church brought to the Industrial Revolution. Second, the ultra-Orthodox kosher phone system has moved from informal rabbinical authority to formal legislative entrenchment, with the July 2024 Knesset vote codifying rabbinical control over approximately 500,000 subscribers. Third, Hinduism’s engagement with smartphones has evolved from theological accommodation to commercial industrialization, with India’s FaithTech sector now valued in the tens of billions of dollars.
The fundamental tension persists across all traditions: smartphones simultaneously threaten and enable religious practice. The Ramadan paradox—simultaneous spiritual discourse of detox and commercial reality of peak engagement—is perhaps the starkest illustration. No tradition has resolved this tension; all continue to navigate it with varying combinations of restriction, accommodation, and theological reinterpretation.
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[38] Reuters via U.S. News & World Report. “A Tech-Savvy Maha Kumbh: India Aims for a Safer Religious Festival.” January 23, 2025. [Snippet] https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2025-01-23/a-tech-savvy-maha-kumbh-india-aims-for-a-safer-religious-festival Search evidence: Query “Hindu religious leaders smartphone digital technology 2024 2025” returned snippet on Digital Maha Kumbh, AI facial recognition, 93M visitors in 9 days (position 4).
[39] Kotak Securities. “India’s Digital Spiritual Revolution: FaithTech Trends & Growth.” December 2025. [Snippet] Same source as [3]; $51M in 2023 funding cited specifically here.
[40] The Salt Lake Tribune / Religion News Service. “‘Smartphone is a weapon of mass distraction,’ says imam, and Ramadan gives Muslims a chance for a digital detox.” May 15, 2019. [Snippet] https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2019/05/15/smartphone-is-weapon-mass/ Search evidence: Query “Islamic Ramadan smartphone digital detox 2024 2025” returned snippet confirming Elmasry quotes, Elgenaidi detox, flip phone switch (position 3).
[41] Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare. “How to Reduce Screen Time During Ramadan.” 2025. [Snippet] https://www.jhah.com/en/health-wellbeing/ramadan-health-guide/mental-health-emotional-well-being/how-to-reduce-screen-time-during-ramadan/ Search evidence: Query “Islamic Ramadan smartphone digital detox 2024 2025” returned snippet on 2025 digital detox study, clinical guidance (position 1).
[42] IslamOnline. “Digital Fasting: A Ramadan Detox for the Soul and Screen.” March 26, 2025. [Snippet] https://islamonline.net/en/digital-fasting-ramadan-detox/ Search evidence: Query “Islamic Ramadan smartphone digital detox 2024 2025” returned snippet on digital seclusion concept parallel to itikaf (position 2).
[43] Adjust. “Key mobile app trends and insights for Ramadan 2025.” February 13, 2025. [Snippet] https://www.adjust.com/blog/ramadan-trends-2025/ Search evidence: Query “Islamic Ramadan smartphone digital detox 2024 2025” returned snippet on 28% shopping app install growth, UAE 126% increase (position 5).
[44] Dar al-Ifta. “E-Fatwa in the AI Age.” [Further Reading] https://www.dar-alifta.org/en/article/details/10334/e-fatwa-in-the-ai-age-reimagining-islamic-guidance-for-muslim-minorities Search evidence: Retained from original document bibliography.
[45] Catholic News Agency. “Privacy in the confessional: Is your smartphone listening to your sins?” [Further Reading] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/260105/privacy-in-the-confessional-is-your-smartphone-listening-to-your-sins Search evidence: Retained from original document bibliography.