A group of leading public figures has warned that comments made by David Cameron about the UK being a Christian country could cause "alienation and division".

More than 50 writers, scientists, broadcasters and academics have signed an open letter expressing concern at the "negative consequences" of the Prime Minister's assertion in a country where most people do not describe themselves as Christian.

It follows the article last week for the Church Times by Mr Cameron in which he wrote of his own faith and his desire to infuse politics with Christian ideals and values.

The open letter says Mr Cameron's comments do not reflect the country as it is today.

"We wish to object to his repeated mischaracterising of our country as a 'Christian country' and the negative consequences for our politics and society that this view engenders," the letter states.

"Repeated surveys, polls, and studies show most of us as individuals are not Christian in our beliefs or our religious identities and at a social level, Britain has been shaped for the better by many pre-Christian, non-Christian, and post-Christian forces.

"We are a plural society with citizens with a range of perspectives and a largely non-religious society. To constantly claim otherwise fosters alienation and division in our society."

Professor Jim al Khalili, the theoretical physicist and science broadcaster and president of the British Humanist Association, who organised the letter said Mr Cameron's comments were part of a "disturbing trend".

"Politicians have been speaking of our country as 'a Christian country' with increasing frequency in the last few years," he said.

"Not only is this inaccurate, I think it's a wrong thing to do in a time when we need to be building a strong shared identity in an increasingly plural and non-religious society."