A new survey from the Pew Research Center revealed that many Americans held fast to their faith during the COVID-19 pandemic and don’t blame God for it or other disasters including floods, hurricanes and wildfires.

Pew researchers said they found that many Americans believe the tragedies and human suffering were happenstances — also attributable to people’s actions and the way society is structured. Researchers found that fewer Americans blamed God or questioned God’s existence because of tragedies.

Upon reading “Sometimes bad things just happen,” 44% of the survey respondents said the phrase described their views very well and 42% said it described their views somewhat well. Sixty-one percent of Americans think that suffering exists “to provide an opportunity for people to come out stronger.” In a separate questionnaire, 68% said that “everything in life happens for a reason.”