Mark Zuckerberg says he's become 'more religious' after becoming a father in rare public discussion about faith: 'The last few years have been really humbling for me' (FB)

January 31, 2020

facebook ceo mark zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg has grown "more religious" over the past few years.
The Facebook CEO said the birth of his daughters and the challenges his company have faced have influenced his faith.
The 35-year-old tech exec made the rare public comments about religion at a conference in Utah.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he's grown more religious over the last few years as a result of fatherhood and the "challenges we've been through as a company."

In an on-stage interview at a conference in Utah on Friday, the 35-year-old technology executive made rare public comments about his Jewish faith.

Asked about who his mentors are Zuckerberg segued into a discussion about religion. "I've become more religious," he said: "The last few years have been really humbling for me."

He went on: "I think there's a comfort in knowing and having confidence that there are things bigger than you ... it's why I have so much faith in democracy overall, it's why I care so much about giving people a voice."

Zuckerberg attributed his evolution to two factors: The issues his company has faced over the last few years, and the birth of his two daughters, now aged four and two.

He added: "You have to believe in things that are bigger than yourself."

Zuckerberg subsequently jokingly clarified that "I did not mean to say that God is a mentor."

The billionaire chief executive grew up in Dobbs Ferry, New York in a Jewish household. He only rarely talks about his faith, and in a reply to a Facebook post in 2016 said that after a period of questioning in his life, he no longer considered himself an atheist. " I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important," he wrote.

His wife Priscilla Chan is Buddhist, he wrote in a Facebook post in 2015.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at (+1) 650-636-6268 using a non-work device, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.)

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why it's so hard for planes to land on water