Nearly three quarters of Christians think that God is male, compared with less than half of the general population, according to a poll.

Six out of ten people believe that all religion is fundamentally sexist, but more than two out of three people think that there is still a place for religion in modern life.

The research was carried out by Populus for the Movement for Reform Judaism, to mark the publication of its new prayer book, or siddur, today.

For the first time the Reform movement will use gender-neutral language to refer to God and will give female figures in the Bible, such as Sarah and Rachel, equal prominence to males.

About a quarter of Britain's 300,000 Jewish people are affiliated to the Reform movement, which takes a liberal approach on issues such as homosexuality.

About six out of ten believe that God is male and only one in a hundred believes that She is female. Only four out of ten thought it right that God should be referred to solely as “He”.