A Historic Shift: More Americans Than Ever Say Morality Doesn’t Require God

New data from the Pew Research Center reveals an unsettling trend: a record majority of Americans now believe that belief in God is not essential to being moral or holding good values.

Conducted March 24-30, 2025, as part of the American Trends Panel Wave 166, the U.S. portion polled 3,605 adults. When presented with the statement, "It is not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values," a full 68% agreed. This marks the highest level since Pew started asking this question in 2002 -- which also surpasses the most recent high of 58% back in 2014. Since 2020, roughly two-thirds of Americans have consistently held this view.

Of course, those driving the surge are largely people who already don't believe in God, but the broader trend offers a revealing window into America's (perhaps the world's) evolving cultural landscape. In fact, the picture becomes even more fascinating when viewed globally. Pew's research extended to 28,333 adults across 25 countries between January and April 2025, and it revealed sharp divides.

In many Western and secular-leaning nations -- such as Canada, Hungary, Italy, Germany, France, and others -- agreement that belief in God isn't required for morality runs high, ranging from 70% to 89%. By contrast, in deeply religious societies like Indonesia (99%), India, Kenya, and South Africa, overwhelming majorities insist that faith in God is essential to moral living.

Pew identified a clear pattern: Countries with higher personal belief in God (based on separate 2024 data) tend to view it as crucial for morality. Indonesia, for instance, combines near-universal belief in God with 99% seeing it as necessary for good values. Sweden, with only 33% belief, sees just 10% linking the two. Within individual countries, the divide often tracks personal religiosity. In Hungary, for example, 67% of those who say religion is very important in their lives believe God is necessary for morality, compared to just 19% among those who don't prioritize faith.

At the same time, the overall direction appears clear: In many places, morality is increasingly decoupling from belief in God. Between 2022 and 2025, 11 countries saw declines in the share saying belief is necessary -- including a dramatic 16%-point drop in Germany (from 37% to 21%). Similar shifts appeared in Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, and South Africa (comparing 2019-2025 data). India showed increases, while Kenya, Mexico, and Turkey remained stable.

These findings point to deepening secularization in wealthier, Western societies, where urbanization, education, and pluralism may contribute to viewing ethics as rooted in human reason, empathy, or societal norms rather than divine command. In more religious regions, faith remains seen as the foundation of moral order. Yet from a Christian perspective, these developments invite deeper reflection. Do they signal societies suppressing God's revealed truth, as described in Romans 1:18-32? Or do they present an opportunity for the church to demonstrate that genuine faith produces uniquely transformative, distinctive ethics?

How can Christians engage a culture that increasingly sees morality as independent of God -- perhaps by embodying Christ-centered virtues in daily life or by offering thoughtful apologetics for the divine foundation of right and wrong? To explore these many questions further, Dr. David Closson, director of Family Research Council's Center for Biblical Worldview, shared his insights in an interview with The Washington Stand.

Closson urged Christians to approach this shift with both clarity and humility. "On one level," he said, "it is certainly true that people who do not believe in God are capable of doing things we would describe as moral. The Christian claim, however, is not that unbelievers cannot behave morally, but that without God there is no ultimate foundation for moral values or moral duties."

He pointed to the imago Dei -- the image of God -- as the root of our innate moral sense: "The reason human beings have a moral sense at all is because we are created in God's image." As a result, "even those who reject belief in God still live within a moral framework that ultimately reflects God's character and the moral law written on the human heart." Closson encouraged believers to engage their secular neighbors by emphasizing "that morality is not merely a social contract or personal preference, but that it reflects a deeper moral order grounded in the nature of God himself."

He went on to connect the trend to larger cultural forces, stating how "the growing separation between morality and belief in God reflects a broader cultural shift towards secularism and expressive individualism." Ultimately, "when morality is detached from God, it eventually becomes detached from any stable foundation -- moral claims increasingly become matters of personal opinion, political power, or cultural preference rather than objective truths." However, he noted, "when society retains the moral language of Christianity while rejecting its theological foundation, it creates a tension that cannot be sustained indefinitely."

Closson turned to Scripture's core teaching. "It's really important for all of us to truly understand that Scripture teaches that morality ultimately flows from God's character," he stressed. "The Bible describes God as holy, righteous, and just." Yet "we understand that humanity's moral understanding has been affected by sin. So again, that means people can perceive moral truths, but they often distort or suppress them. And so, for Christians, the implication is probably twofold: We should defend the objective moral truths that are revealed in Scripture, but we should also do so with compassion, recognizing that every person struggles with sin and needs the grace and redemption that's offered in Christ."

The global contrasts are illuminating, Closson observed, "because they show how culture and religious heritage shape moral assumptions. In many societies, religion remains central. People instinctively recognize the connection between belief in God and moral accountability. From a Christian perspective, the ultimate question is not simply whether people believe in a 'god,' but whether their moral framework is grounded in the true and living God revealed in Scripture."

"As Christians," he concluded, "we believe that the deepest and most coherent explanation for human dignity, moral obligation, and justice comes from the biblical teaching that humanity is created in the image of God and accountable to Him. And one of the reasons these convictions are still so present in the United States is that we are living on the fumes of the biblical worldview that our forebearers truly believed in."

Originally published at The Washington Stand