A record low number of Americans says religion can serve as an answer to "all or most of today's problems," according to a new poll.

The Gallup survey published Monday found that just 46 percent of respondents said religion can solve all or most of the world's problems. It marked the first time in more than six decades that less than half of Americans responded that way.

Meanwhile, 39 percent said that religion is "old-fashioned and out of date."

Americans' perspectives on that issue are predictably divided based on how frequently they attend church, according to the poll. The poll found that 81 percent of people who attend church weekly say religion can answer today's problems, while 58 percent of people who attend infrequently called church old-fashioned.

The poll, which was published the day before Christmas, also found that 72 percent of people say religion is important in their lives.

A slight majority of people - 51 percent - say that religion is very important to them, the poll found.

The poll's results were based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,025 adults from Dec. 3 to 12. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.