Half of all Britons believe Jesus rose from the dead, according to research published today.

According to the survey, 57 per cent of adults believe that Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. But for over a quarter of the British population, the fundamental parts of the Easter story have ‘no real meaning’, the survey found.

Two in five people regard Jesus as the son of God according to results, whereas just over half think was just a holy prophet.

The online survey of 1100 Britons was conducted by Theos the public theology think-tank.

The Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, said: “The results show a healthy number of people who do still believe in what the New Testament teaches both about Jesus and about their own ultimate future, but also a fair amount of predictable confusion about what resurrection itself actually is.

“Resurrection isn’t a fancy way of saying ’life after death’ - it’s a way of talking about a further stage, life after ‘life after death’,” he said.

Three per cent of those questioned identified themselves as Christian but said they did not attend church regularly. Only eight per cent said they were Christian and went to church on a regular basis.

Nearly a quarter said they were atheist and did not believe in the existence of God at all.

Paul Woolley, Theos director, said: “The fact that over half of Britons believe that Jesus rose from the dead is particularly striking and demonstrates that society is not as secular as we often imagine it to be.”