The idea that Facebook can replace religious communities is “a delusion”, a Church of England bishop has said, as the social network surpasses global Christianity in numbers.

Figures released by the social network for 2018 show that it has 2.32bn monthly active users, more than the most recent available figures for the reach of Christianity.

Data from the Pew Research Centre suggests that the faith has 2.3bn adherents worldwide.

Facebook was founded 15 years ago last Monday, and in a blog post to mark the occasion chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said that “people's experience in the past was defined by large hierarchical institutions - governments, mass media, universities, religious organisations - that provided stability but were often remote and inaccessible.

“Our current century is defined more by networks of people who have the freedom to interact with whom they want and the ability to easily share ideas and experiences.”

Mr Zuckerberg has often argued that Facebook functions as a new type of more egalitarian community in an attempt to defend it from attacks over its use of members’ data and impact on democracy.

In 2017 the founder suggested that the social network could help fill a vacuum left by the loss of traditional support structures and community leaders.