Two thirds (68%) of Americans believe it isn’t necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values, although the researcher is at pains to point out that this view is primarily held by individuals who already don’t believe in God.  

Pew Research Center has been asking this question across the world for almost all this century.

It found most western Europeans reflecting the US trend while the majority of people in other countries supported the view that God was an essential influence on their morality and values.

Data for the United States research was collected from 3,605 adults in March last year as part of the American Trends Panel Wave 166 Survey.

QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED 18 TIMES THIS CENTURY

Pew researchers have asked the question of whether or not people need God to be moral and have good values 18 times since 2002.

Last year saw the largest share of U.S. adults to agree with that statement since the first survey.

In 2014, that share was 58%.

AMERICANS WERE INITIALLY EVENLY SPLIT, BUT THEN RAPIDLY TURNED AGAINST GOD’S INFLUENCE

“From 2002 through 2011, Americans were split fairly evenly or tilted toward the view that people need to believe in God to be moral and have good values,” said senior Pew researcher Jonathan Evans.

“Starting in 2014, however, Americans have been more likely to say the opposite — that belief in God is not necessary to be moral.” 

The data shows that since 2020, the share has stablised at around two-thirds of US adults holding that view.

DIFFERENT RESPONSE IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Pew researchers also posed the question to adults in 24 other countries from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas soon after the US survey.

Significant majorities in half of those countries, mostly in Europe, agreed that belief in God isn’t necessary to be moral and have good values.

Only Hindu majority India and Muslim majority Indonesia saw growth in the share of adults who say it’s necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values.

In Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Turkey, a clear majority of adults linked morality and good values to belief in God.

STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN BELIEF IN GOD AND HIS INFLUENCE IN BEING MORAL

The data from all the research showed a “a strong correlation between believing in God and saying that belief in God is necessary to be moral,” according to Jonathan Evans.

“In Hungary, for instance, two-thirds of adults who say religion is very important to them, also say that belief in God is necessary to be moral.”

“Among Hungarians who place less personal importance on religion, by comparison, just 19% connect belief in God with morality.”

U.S. GOD AND MORALITY VIEWS CORRELATE WITH POLL SHOWING GROWTH IN NO RELIGION

The Christian Post reports the views on morality come as a recent Gallup poll shows that Americans with no formal religious identity, popularly known as the “nones,” reached a record 24% share of the population in 2025.

It also showed that fewer than half (47%) of US adults say religion is “very important” in their lives.

Another 25% said it is “fairly important” to them.

“Americans’ relationship with religion continues to evolve, marked by fewer adults describing religion as central to their lives,” concluded Megan Brenan, a senior editor at Gallup.

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