As people get closer to death, they become more religious, according to a poll.

Nearly half of all teenagers have no religion or faith, according to a Mori survey of 2000 people.

But among those in their 20s, the number with no religious beliefs falls to just one fifth. And as people get towards their 60s, the numbers professing atheism fall even lower, to little more than one sixth.

The poll was commissioned by the British Library as part of its popular holy texts exhibition, Sacred.

Christianity was the most popular religion, with 64 per cent of those surveyed saying they were Christian. Islam was the second most popular, at 4 per cent.

However, Muslims were twice as likely to say they practise their religion a great deal or a fair amount in their lives as Christians. Muslims were also more likely to see religion as “relevant to their life.”

The event most likely to make people religious was the death of a family member, the survey found.