Survey says.

On a survey done in Britain over the weekend more than half of the respondents professed a belief in God. At the same time well over half also said that religion was "harmful!" (We have been saying that here all along!)

The YouGov poll commissioned by John Humphrys, the broadcaster and writer, found that 62% of the 2,200 people taking part considered religion had a harmful effect.

One reason might be the publicity attracted by a handful of mad mullahs and their hate-filled rhetoric, writes Humphrys in his new book, In God We Doubt, an extract of which appears in the Sunday Times News Review.

Only 16% of those polled called themselves atheists; 35% believed in God; 35% believed in something, but were not sure what; and 14% regarded themselves as agnostics - like Humphrys himself, who had a religious upbringing in Wales but calls himself a doubter.

He writes: Even though the dominant faith - by a massive margin is Christianity, only 17% thought the influence of religion was beneficial. That is even fewer than those who claim that they believe in a personal God. And yet when we asked which of the main religions was most effective in getting its message across, most thought it was Christianity. Only 10% cited Islam compared with 42% who said Christianity.

In the survey 52% said they never prayed, 38% hardly prayed, and 10% prayed every night.

More than half of those who say they believe in a personal God cannot be bothered to pray to him every night, writes Humphrys.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com