A growing share of Americans say it’s not necessary to believe in God to be moral
Most U.S. adults now say it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values, up from about half who expressed this view in 2011.
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Gregory A. Smith is a Senior Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center, where he studies religion’s role in American public life, including religious change in the U.S., the intersection of religion and politics, American Catholicism, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and many other topics. He has led major public opinion studies, including the Center’s three Religious Landscape Studies and its profiles of religiously unaffiliated Americans, also called “the nones.” Greg has authored numerous survey reports examining Christianity’s role in America’s identity, religion’s role in American society, Americans’ belief in God, the attitudes and beliefs of U.S. Catholics and U.S. Protestants, and Americans’ knowledge about religion, among others. His expertise is frequently cited in prominent media outlets such as NPR, CNN, and The New York Times. Greg holds a doctorate in government from the University of Virginia.