A record low of 47 per cent of Britons said they had a religious faith

People with religious faith are outnumbered in Britain by a record number of non-believers.

The proportion of Britons declaring that they have no religion has risen from 48 per cent in 2015 to 53 per cent last year, the British Social Attitudes Survey has found.

It is only the second time religious people have found themselves in a minority and is the widest gap recorded by the annual study.

In 1983, when the survey of about 3,000 people was first conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, 69 per cent declared a religious faith. This dipped to 49 per cent in 2009 before recovering to 54 per cent in 2011, but is now at a record low of 47 per cent.

The fall has