Most Americans do not believe faith in God is obligatory to be moral

A record majority of Americans now say that it isn’t obligatory to consider in God to be moral and have good values, but this view is primarily held by individuals who already do not believe in God, in accordance with recent data from the Pew Research Center.

The research, published earlier this month, also highlights a growing share of individuals around the globe who say belief in God isn’t obligatory to be moral and have good values.

Data for the United States portion of the research was collected from 3,605 adults between March 24-30, 2025, as a part of the American Trends Panel Wave 166 Survey. It shows that the query of whether or not people need God to be moral and have good values was asked 18 times since 2002, and in 2025, 68% of U.S. adults agreed that “It shouldn’t be obligatory to consider in God in an effort to be moral and have good values.”

It’s the biggest share of U.S. adults to agree with that statement since 2002. In 2014, that share was 58%.

“From 2002 through 2011, Americans were split fairly evenly or tilted toward the view that folks must consider in God to be moral and have good values. Starting in 2014, nonetheless, Americans have been more more likely to say the alternative — that belief in God is not obligatory to be moral,” Jonathan Evans, senior researcher on the Pew Research Center, said in a statement.

The data show that since 2020, roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults have held the position that belief in God isn’t obligatory to be moral and have good values.

Researchers also posed the query to adults in 24 other countries from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas within the spring of 2025. Significant majorities in half of those countries, mostly in Europe, agree that belief in God isn’t obligatory to be moral and have good values.

Only India and Indonesia saw growth within the share of adults who say it’s obligatory to consider in God to be moral and have good values.

“Indians today are 6 points more likely than in 2019 (85% vs. 79%) and 15 points more likely than in 2013 (85% vs. 70%) to say belief in God is obligatory to be moral,” Evans stated. “In Indonesia, 96% of adults or more have connected belief in God with morality all five times we’ve asked the query since 2007.”

Still, the information show “a robust correlation between believing in God and saying that belief in God is obligatory to be moral,” in accordance with Evans.

Unlike many countries in Europe, the research found that in places like Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Turkey, a transparent majority of adults linked morality and good values to belief in God.

“In Hungary, as an example, two-thirds of adults who say religion may be very necessary to them also say that belief in God is obligatory to be moral,” Evans noted. “Among Hungarians who place less personal importance on religion, by comparison, just 19% connect belief in God with morality.”

The latest findings on America’s ideas on morality come as recent Gallup data show that Americans with no formal religious identity, popularly often called the “nones,” reached a record share of the population in 2025. It also showed that fewer than 50% of U.S. adults say religion is “very necessary” of their lives.

Less than half (47%) of American adults say religion is “very necessary” of their lives, while one other 25% said it’s “fairly necessary” to them.

The share of Americans who say religion is “very necessary” of their lives has been in gradual decline from 70% to 75% within the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, to 58% in 2012, in accordance with Gallup.

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

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