Faith is a really important aspect of being human and faith in God or a higher power- has been used as an institutionalised weapon for years, especially considering the number of wars that have been fought over religion itself. Before looking up "robots and religion" I was almost expecting nothing to show up, because of controversial the correlation seems. However, I came across not one, but multiple robots that have been and are currently playing a vital role in perpetuating religious teachings. 

Meet Mindar! 

Mindar is a robot programmed to deliver a 25-minute sermon on the Heart Sutra, a Buddhist scripture, designed to stimulate interest in Buddhist teachings. The theory behind curating a robot like Mindar is that the image of Buddha will make it slightly easier to understand Buddhist teachings. A common saying by Mindar is: "Wordly desires are nothing other than a mind lost at sea". This was particularly intriguing because, for me, Mindar is an impeccable testament to our worldly desires- and our need for seeking faith in worldly attributes. 

Another example of such a robot is "Pepper";  a doe-eyed humanoid robot that chants sutras at Japanese funerals.