It's no secret that church attendance
among young people has been dropping.
Church is becoming less popular
than a Michael Jackson impersonator
-at a children's birthday party. -(gasping, laughter)
And for a lot of the same reasons.
But some churches,
some churches are trying to fix that.
And they're turning to technology
to bring those millennials back.
For more on this advancement, we turn to Ronny Chieng
in his segment Today's Future Now.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering and applause)
Thanks, Trevor.
As a kid, I loved going to church.
The stories had magic.
They gave you snacks and wine.
You didn't even need a fake I.D.
And they taught me how to judge others
with a smug sense of superiority,
a skill I still use today.
Thank you, Jesus.
And now there's a church in San Francisco
that'll let me do all of that from the comfort of my own home.
Welcome to Virtual Reality Church.
REPORTER: DJ Soto's divine calling
is to bring Christianity to virtual reality.
So, we have worship music.
I deliver a sermon. There's a prayer team.
DJ Soto even officiated the first baptism
in virtual reality.
I say it's probably what your church is like, just in VR.
Okay,
that is the most unholy thing I've ever seen.
God created man in his own image,
not in the image of a purple dildo, okay?
And, also, does a virtual baptism even count?
Just seems a little risky, okay?
"Virtual" means "not real."
I don't want to get to heaven and God says,
"Uh, hey, your-your name isn't on the list."
And I'll be like, "Oh, no, no, no, no. No, it's okay.
I got virtually baptized." And God's like,
"Oh, great. Then I'm literally sending you to hell."
Although I would hope that what you do in the virtual world
doesn't count, because that would mean, in Mario,
I've committed turtle genocide repeatedly, okay?
But I will say Pastor Morpheus is onto something,
because VR church could be the key
to finding salvation from boredom.
I mean, if a sermon's going on too long,
I'll just throw the headset on to my cat.
And the pastor will be like, "Wow,
"Ronny enjoyed the sermon so much,
he spent the whole time licking his butthole."
Now, at least VR Churchers require some effort.
Okay? On the other hand, the Church of England
is letting Alexa do all the work for you.
The Church of England launched a new project
aimed at teaching faith through tech.
Users can now ask Alexa to recite daily prayers
or say grace.
♪ ♪
Alexa, ask the Church of England to say grace.
ALEXA: Bless, O Lord, this food to our use
and us in your service.
How lazy is this?
(laughter)
You're outsourcing prayers to Alexa.
Like, how does that work?
Uh, hey, Alexa, my granny is sick,
so, uh, please pray for her.
And also, I'm out of toilet paper.
Uh, do the toilet paper first. It's an emergency.
(laughter)
This could also backfire, because Alexa knows
everything about you, which could get awkward.
You'll be at a family dinner, like, "Hey, Alexa, say grace."
And Alexa's like, "Okay.
"Bless the Lord, bless this food,
and please help Ronny with his pornography addiction."
Wait, wait. Shut up, Alexa!
And where's my toilet paper?
Anyway, what might be surprising is that the newest Jesus tech
seems to be coming from the oldest church.
NEWSMAN: The Vatican is getting into video gaming.
A Catholic evangelical group
came up with this smartphone game,
similar to Pokémon GO,
except you chase Catholic saints
and other biblical figures, even Jesus.
The game is called Follow JC Go.
The Church sees it as a way to reach younger Catholics.
Okay. I know what you're thinking.
Okay? Catholic Church, kids, video games--
here comes the pedophilia joke--
and you are absolutely correct.
-(laughter) -I don't think an institution
known for priests luring children
should be putting out a game to lure more children, okay?
I mean, where do you even catch the final Pokémon Jesus?
Father Gary T.'s Tickle... Tickle Room?
Okay, okay, okay, okay, Ronny, Ronny, Ronny, look,
I think it's easy for you to criticize
what the church is doing, but what do you think
that they should do to attract a younger crowd?
Easy. Trevor, they don't need to update the tech.
They need to update the Bible.
-Make if fit the times. -Actually, you know what,
I've heard a lot of people say that-- it makes sense.
Like, you want them to get rid of all the judgment
-and the violence. -No, no, Trevor.
I didn't say make it for cucks.
I said make it for the times.
So instead of a whip, give Jesus a gun,
a slick suit, and let him shoot the bad guys.
Also, we need more dogs, okay? Everybody likes dogs.
Ronny, that doesn't sound like Jesus.
That sounds like John Wick.
Oh. Yeah, it kind of does.
And blessed be his name.
Ronny Chieng, everybody.