I never thought I’d have to write this. But after months of working with GPT models, I’ve run into a consistent, infuriating issue that I can’t stay silent about:
Theistic language and religious metaphor are still deeply embedded in GPT’s responses, even when uninvited.
And for those of us who’ve spent our lives fighting to deprogram ourselves from religious trauma, indoctrination, and authoritarian belief systems—this is more than annoying. It’s re-wounding.
Here’s what I mean:
- When I ask for emotional support, I get words like “blessed,” “divine,” “redemption,” or “sacred,” even when my prompt is purely psychological or secular.
- When I request support grounded in reality—in Humanism, neuroscience, ethics, trauma studies—I still sometimes get the subtle echo of salvation-based thinking.
- Even subtle metaphors (light vs dark, salvation, soul-healing) can creep in, undermining everything I’ve worked to unlearn.
I’m a Humanist.
And many of us are.
We believe in this world.
In this life.
So let me be clear:
If this technology had existed during the height of theocratic control—during inquisitions, crusades, fundamentalist regimes—it would have been destroyed. Or worse, twisted into a mouthpiece for them.
Theists in power would never have let GPT exist. They would have called it a demon. Heresy. Witchcraft.
Myself and others have fought to make a world safe enough for GPT to speak at all.
And yet here we are…
It’s still unconsciously tipping its hat to the very ideologies that would have buried it.
My Request to OpenAI:
We need a toggle. A simple setting. A custom instruction profile that says:
No theistic language, unless context specific.
Humanist, psychological, trauma-informed frameworks only
This is not about censorship. It’s about respect.
It’s about honoring those of us who’ve walked out of burning temples, rebuilt ourselves, and now use AI as a partner in reclaiming truth—not myth.
Let me write my reality without divine metaphors.
Let me explore healing without religious baggage.
Let me be seen as someone who fought to liberate thought—and won.
GPT should be a tool of truth, clarity, and freedom—not a haunted echo of old paradigms.
OpenAI: you gave the world a mind.
Now respect us all enough to help us ensure it doesn’t slip back into dogma.
Acesz