Facebook founder says he’s no longer an atheist

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. File photo

Christmas season brings out the good in most people and it made quite an impact on Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as he appears to be have shifted from his atheist beliefs and is now claiming that “religion is very important.”

The revelation came on Christmas day last week, when the 32-year-old tech mogul posted a short but sweet message on his verified Facebook account. The post read: “Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from Priscilla, Max, Beast and me!” referring to his wife, daughter and pet dog, respectively.

The social media innovator, who has identified himself as a ‘non-believer’ in the past, was quickly met by a comment from a curious user, who quipped “Aren’t you an atheist?”

“No. I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important,” he responded.

Although Zuckerberg did not specify the details of his new-found faith, his positive attitude towards embracing religion was on full-effect last August, when he met with the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis.

READ: Offline: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg chats with Pope Francis

“We told him how much we admire his message of mercy and tenderness, and how he’s found new ways to communicate with people of every faith around the world,” Zuckerberg described their chat with the beloved pontiff. “It was a meeting we’ll never forget. You can feel his warmth and kindness, and how deeply he cares about helping people.”

His spouse, Priscilla, meanwhile, is a practicing Buddhist and her religious interests have also rubbed off on Zuckerberg.

“Priscilla is Buddhist and asked me to offer a prayer from her as well. Buddhism is an amazing religion and philosophy, and I have been learning more about it over time. I hope to continue understanding the faith more deeply,” he wrote in a post that included a photo of him kneeling in front of the Wild Goose Pagoda—a Buddhist landmark in Xi’an, China—during a visit in 2015. Khristian Ibarrola