'I've become more religious,' says Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on stage during a town hall at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California September 27, 2015.Reuters/Stephen Lam/File Photo

Mark Zuckerberg admits that the challenges of the last few years have made him "more religious".

The Facebook CEO has come under fire over persistent accusations that the social media platform has an anti-conservative bias and influenced elections, and has had to appear before Congress for questioning. 

He opened up about the impact that the last few years have had on him spiritually, and his struggles to be a good dad in the face of his heavy work commitments.

In an interview at the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit last week, he said: "The last few years have been really humbling for me. I've become more religious."

He added that it was important to believe in something "bigger than ourselves", and that family would always be more important to him than his work. 

"We all need to feel like we're parts of things that are bigger than ourselves," Zuckerberg said.

"I try to put my girls to bed every night... I don't always get to do that but that's important to me.

"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."

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

It reflects a religious progression in the billionaire who used to declare himself atheist on his Facebook profile.

In December 2016, when asked by a Facebook user if he was still an atheist, he revealed that his views on religion had changed.

"I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things. But now I believe religion is very important," he said at the time.