Those saying that they do not believe in any god or higher spiritual power has gone up from 33 to 38 per cent Getty Images

Election surprises, conflict, a refugee crisis and terrorism: the past 18 months seem to have had it all — and this appears significantly to have dented the public’s faith in a god.

A YouGov poll for The Times has found a four-point decline in the proportion of people who say that they believe in God, from 32 per cent in February last year to 28 per cent today.

Those saying that they actively do not believe in any god or higher spiritual power has gone up five points, from 33 to 38 per cent.

The proportion who believe that there is no god but might be some kind of spiritual power has remained static on 20 per cent, while 14 per cent do not know.