Almost thirty per cent of Brits now say they don’t believe in God

A YouGov poll (pdf) for the Sunday Times of 1,642 adults has found that 29% of respondents said they definitely don't believe in God (another 21% say they don't believe in God but believe in an unidentified "higher power"). Thirty-seven per cent definitely believe in God.

A third of those interviewed identified themselves as belonging to the Church of England. Only 7% said they attended a place of worship once a week. 53% said they never attended a place of worship.

Respondents were also asked their opinions about the new Archbishop of Canterbury and his predecessor, Rowan Williams. Unsurprisingly, when asked to judge the relative merits of present and former Archbishops, there were a great number of "don't knows". This seems to indicate a massive indifference to the Church and its activities.

When told that the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, apparently opposes same-sex marriage, people were asked whether the law should be changed to permit same-sex couples to marry. 51% said yes, 38% said no.