(JTA) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told a live audience at a tech conference that he has “become more religious” in recent years.
Zuckerberg was interviewed Friday evening at the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit.
“The last few years have been really humbling for me,” Zuckerberg said. “I’ve become more religious.”
He attributed his religious evolution to the issues his company has faced over the last few years and the birth of his two daughters, now ages four and two, Deseret News reported.
“We all need to feel like we’re parts of things that are bigger than ourselves. I try to put my girls to bed every night … I don’t always get to do that but that’s important to me,” Zuckerberg said. “Work is important … but at the end of the day we’re all people, and you need your family and friends and communities around you.”
“You have to believe in things that are bigger than yourself,” he said.
He later clarified that “I did not mean to say that God is a mentor,” Business Insider reported.
In 2016, Zuckerberg posted on Facebook in response to a question about his religious beliefs: ” I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important.” He once defined himself as an atheist.
He has since posted a photo of his daughter using a family heirloom kiddush cup, and photos of homemade challah and hamentaschen.
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