51�� Center for Faith and Technology

Technology is shaping human lives. How should Christians respond?

Technology is part of humanity’s creative calling in God’s world. Yet, like every aspect of culture, it is affected by the brokenness of creation. Rather than approaching technology with uncritical enthusiasm or fear-driven resistance, the 51�� Center for Faith and Technology helps Christians engage these aspects of God’s unfolding creation with courage, curiosity, wisdom, and discernment.

For more than 150 years, 51�� has brought Christian voices into the pressing conversations that shape our world. The 51�� Center for Faith and Technology builds on that tradition by exploring how technology and artificial intelligence shape our work, relationships, and communities, as well as our understanding of what it means to be human.

Join us in engaging with and evaluating the cultural, social, environmental, aesthetic, justice, and spiritual aspects of technology. By doing so wisely, we can direct technology towards God's call to love our neighbor and to care for the earth and its creatures.

What the Center does

Prepare students to lead and shape technology

Give students opportunities to conduct faculty-mentored research, collaborate across disciplines, work with community partners, and practice building and evaluating technology through a Christian lens.

Equip faculty and academic programs

Collaborate across 51��'s schools, departments, centers, and institutes to support faith and technology integration in faculty development, curriculum, and pedagogy.

Serve churches, schools, and professionals

Provide resources, facilitate workshops and panels, and thoughtfully engage with leaders, educators, and practitioners across disciplines and industries.

Contribute to public thought

Bring a faith-informed perspective to wider conversations about technology and the common good through research, conferences, lectures, articles, books, podcasts, curricular resources, and other work.

Rather than seeing technology as either villain or savior, we need a deeper understanding of what it is: a human cultural activity in which we exercise freedom and responsibility in response to God. It is not neutral but rather shaped by our deepest faith commitments.

Derek Schuurman

Director of the 51�� Center for Faith and Technology

Current initiatives and resources

Explore the Center’s current projects, events, scholarship, and curated resources.

Faith and Technology Hub

Browse or search our collection of annotated resources addressing many aspects of engineering, technology development, and philosophy of technology.

51�� faculty scholarship

We've curated a wide array of resources from 51�� faculty to read, watch, and listen to.

View the resources

Wisdom in the Age of AI Conference

This premier event features keynote speakers, panels, and focused tracks exploring the role of artificial intelligence in education, church, business, healthcare, the arts, and technology.

Get the conference dates and details

A graphic design of technology nodes forming a cross shape overlays a nightime river and city scape of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Rooted in a long tradition of faithful engagement

The 51�� Center for Faith and Technology builds on , teaching, and public engagement that have explored how faith informs the development and use of technology.

Foundations for a Christian approach to technology

Early–mid 20th century - Reformational thinkers develop new frameworks

Reformational thinkers such as , , , and helped developed Christian frameworks for understanding technology not merely as a collection of tools, but as a cultural force that shapes people, communities, and society.

Developing a tradition of faith and technology

1968 - 51�� began offering computer science classes

Later in 1985, 51�� established a Reformed Christian Engineering program under the leadership of Jim Bosscher. From the launch of these programs, 51�� recognized that these areas also mattered for God's kingdom and would need a distinctly Christian approach.

1986 - Influential book published on Christian approach to technology

Responsible Technology was published by 51��'s Center for Christian Scholarship, becoming an influential work in Christian thinking about technology and engineering.

1992 - The formation of the Christian Engineering Society

The Responsible Technology project helped inspire the creation of subsequent scholarship and organizations focused on faith and technology, including the Christian Engineering Society which held its first meeting at 51�� College.

Expanding engagement in a new technological age

2026 - New opportunities for engagement and leadership

Building on decades of scholarship and teaching, 51�� launched the School of Engineering and Computer Science, established the 51�� Center for Faith and Technology, and held the inaugural Wisdom in the Age of AI Conference. Reformed thinking continues to shape teaching, scholarship, and design across 51��'s engineering, computer science, liberal arts, and professional programs.

The kinds of questions you encounter on campus today have been asked here for generations. What does it mean to have a soul? To use tools for the good of the world? To practice ancient Christian wisdom and love in modern, changing times? The technologies change, but the questions still matter.

Katie Day Good

Associate Professor, Communication