|TOP|Most Brits describe themselves as Christian despite not attending church regularly, a poll taken for BBC 24’s Faith Day has found.

The poll, examining how belief in religions is shaping British identity, found that more than two-thirds of the 1,019 respondents said they were Christian.

Of the 67 per cent who described themselves as Christian, 59 per cent were men and 75 per cent were women. Only 17 per cent of those who said they were Christian, however, said they attended church regularly.

The BBC survey also found that almost 75 per cent of respondents said the UK should retain Christian values, including 69 per cent of Jews, and nearly 50 per cent of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus.|AD|

More than one third of respondents said they had no understanding of Islam, but with three-quarters saying their views had not been changed by the July 7 terrorist attacks.

Islam formed the next largest religious group after Christianity, with 3 per cent of respondents saying they were Muslim. More than one fifth said they were did not believe in any religion.

The survey also found that among the general population, 14 per cent said they attended a religious service once a week or more, while 60 per cent said they attended a religious service at least once or twice a year.

Twenty eight per cent of the people surveyed said they never attended a service, with some 44 per cent of those who said they had no faith agreeing that the UK should retain a Christian ethos.

The most likely among believers to attend a weekly religious service are, according to the poll, Muslims, with 38 per cent saying they go to a mosque every seven days.