The Pursuit of Quality in Higher Religious Education and Artificial Intelligence (A Comparison of ChatGPT and DeepSeek)

Authors : Süleyman Gümrükçüoğlu

Pages : 73-92

Doi:10.54893/vanid.1744993

View : 180 | Download : 363

Publication Date : 2025-12-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study examines the role of artificial intelligence technologies (ChatGPT and DeepSeek) in shaping the future-oriented vision of higher religious education. Taking as its historical point of departure the reports prepared by Ali Fuat Başgil (1961) and Muhammed Hamidullah (1962) on the quality of higher religious education, it subjects these texts to AI-based analyses and offers a comparative evaluation. The aim is twofold: to adapt the insights of these historical documents to contemporary conditions and to assess the capacity of AI tools to analyze and interpret academic texts. The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology; for data analysis, content, thematic, discourse, and descriptive analyses were employed in conjunction with an ethnographic approach. The findings coalesce around the themes of the need to update the curriculum, the quality of the academic staff, integration with society through practical applications, internationalization, and technological transformation. The report, in particular, underscores the necessity of preserving the traditional Islamic sciences while synthesizing them with modern scientific methods. The recommendations generated by the AI models were evaluated within these thematic frames. While both models similarly identify chronic issues such as inadequate interdisciplinarity and a static curriculum, they diverge in their remedial approaches: ChatGPT prioritizes systematic, digitization-oriented reforms, whereas DeepSeek emphasizes critical pedagogical orientations and the integration of local religious epistemologies into the global context. For example, ChatGPT’s proposal for a “smart curriculum” envisions a dynamic structure adaptable to students’ individual learning paces, whereas DeepSeek’s emphasis on a “critical pedagogy of religion” focuses on enabling students to interpret religious knowledge in pluralistic societies and to apply it within a social-justice framework. Both approaches can lay the groundwork for a holistic model that simultaneously strengthens the technical infrastructure of religious education and deepens its philosophical foundations. However, the success of this integration depends on harmonizing technology with its social context and ethical parameters. A synthesis of the traditional Islamic sciences and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies would enhance the sustainability of higher religious education, enable more effective responses to societal needs, and make possible the design of hybrid models aligned with global academic standards.
Keywords : Yüksek Din Eğitimi, Yapay Zekâ (YZ), Dijital Dönüşüm, Eleştirel Pedagoji, Epistemolojik Dönüşüm

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