In a wide-ranging interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Mr Gates said there is no scientific explanation for how the mystery and beauty of the world came about.

His children have been raised in a religious way, by him and his wife Melinda, he added.

"The moral systems of religion, I think, are super important," he said.

"We've raised our kids in a religious way; they've gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in."

"I've been very lucky, and therefore I owe it to try and reduce the inequity in the world," he said

"And that's kind of a religious belief. I mean, it's at least a moral belief."

Mr Gates, who is worth an estimated US$76billion, was asked if he believed in God.

"I think it makes sense to believe in God, but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don't know," he replied.

At the same time, he said he agrees with "people like Richard Dawkins that mankind felt the need for creation myths".

"Before we really began to understand disease and the weather and things like that, we sought false explanations for them.

"Now science has filled in some of the realm - not all - that religion used to fill," he said.

"But the mystery and the beauty of the world is overwhelmingly amazing, and there's no scientific explanation of how it came about.

"To say that it was generated by random numbers, that does seem, you know, sort of an uncharitable view [laughs]."

Melinda Gates has said that her Catholic upbringing is behind the work she does at the Gates Foundation.

But her stance on providing contraception for third world countries has drawn criticism from Catholic sources.

Mrs Gates has said this is a social justice issue for her.

Sources:

• Rolling Stone
• Christian Post
• Daily Mail
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Foreign Policy

"Individual Catholics have to take this on as a personal challenge to the integrity of the Church," Brown told LifeSiteNews.com "First of all they have to become well-versed on the Catholic teaching regarding contraception. Then they have to share that knowledge in very brief, one-line comments to the bishops, not only [Melinda Gates'] bishop in Washington state, but to every bishop, pleading with them to defend the poor."

The Catholic bishops, said Brown, are "always telling us that they are terribly concerned about poor people, immigrants, undocumented immigrants."

"Now is the time for them to step up and teach, in a unified body, that what is going to happen in the third world is totally unacceptable to Christ, it is totally unacceptable to his Church, and the victimization of poor women will be beyond the pale, and therefore they must act in unison, calling on the Gates Foundation to stop this madness, and learn how to teach NFP, which is the proper answer to this." Continue reading