PEOPLE who believe God exists are now a minority in Britain, a survey claimed yesterday.  According to a poll by YouGov, just 44 per cent believe in God compared to 77 per cent in 1968.

A majority - 81 per cent - also believe the country is becoming more secular, with fewer people going to places of worship.

But among this percentage, 68 per cent of believers and 14 per cent of non-believers, regretted that society was becoming less religious.

Only a third of the 1,981 people who took part in the online survey believe in heaven and even fewer believe in the devil. Just a quarter think hell exists. Fewer than half, 43 per cent, believed their souls would outlast their bodily life.

Young people especially are significantly less religious than older generations, with more than a third saying they were agnostics or atheists.

Among middle-aged people and the elderly, the figure is far smaller, according to YouGov.

One in four who were asked whether or not they believed in God, replied "don't know".