Muslims most likely to be pro-Europe, while Christians back Brexit

A Muslim woman pushes a buggy under a railway bridge in London.Reuters

Practising Christians are the most likely among faith communities in England to support the Eurosceptic 'Brexit' position.

Muslims, meanwile, are the most Europhile of all the religious groups, a new survey has found.

The findings came in the new Populus Hope Not Hate survey which throws light for the first time on what different religious groups feel about the EU referendum in June.

"All the questions suggest that professing Christians are currently more likely than average to take up Eurosceptic positions, with Muslims the most Europhile," reports religious researcher Clive Field.

Populus surveyed more than 4,000 adults in February. The findings are reported in deteail in Robert Ford and Nick Lowles' new book Fear & Hope, 2016: Race, Faith and Belonging in Today's England.

Meanwhile, Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan has praised the European Union as the "most successful project for peace, freedom and democracy the world has ever seen".

The Welsh Anglican leader warned of a danger in the referendum that the result will be determined by how people feel on the "spur of the moment".

He said: "We should not abandon the most successful project for peace. It is about belonging to a union of distinct nations, whose ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversities are protected by EU laws, who agree to work together for the common good, to pursue peace, and to help members who are less fortunate than others."