Are "due to" and "because of" equal?

Question

Are "due to" and "because of" equal - i.e. due to something and because of something?

Can I use it with context of reason?

Answer 1

There are still a few pedants pontificating over correct usage of Owing to vs Due to, but I'm not aware anyone has ever objected to replacing either with because of.

So, yes - you can use because of or due to to link a cause to an effect (i.e. - to specify a reason)...

1: OP asked this question because of his uncertainty
2: OP asked this question owing to his uncertainty
3: ?OP asked this question due to his uncertainty

I've never had a problem with #3, but as that link says, some people object to it on the grounds that due to is "adjectival", and should thus reference a noun (not a statement, such as "OP asked this question").