Nestled amongst the nondescript concrete buildings of Silicon Valley, home to start-ups and tech giants, are a surprising number of churches and temples.

They cater to the highly successful and wealthy population of the world’s tech capital. It is surprising because this is a region that is known for its agnosticism, rather than religiosity.

"Silicon Valley attracts people with a type-A personality,” said Skip Vaccarello, author of Finding God in Silicon Valley. "[That type has] the lowest number of people that go to a church on any Sunday. The gods become the things like money, technology, success and so on."

A recent survey listed San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose as having the least church-going population of any place in America.

That churchless image belies the modern reality: new places of worship in Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area are attracting enthusiastic congregations. For some, there appears to be a yearning for a spiritual experience that cannot be achieved in the workplace or home.

Churches, temples and other places of worship are popping up in office parks, warehouses and community centres.

“A lot of people come out here and they find that you’re making more money than you know what to do with, you’re being promoted to a position greater than you ever thought you could be, but it’s not really fulfilling your soul,” said 25-year-old Austin Walterman, who works in the video game industry.