London, England - A majority of respondents in Britain said they believe religion causes more harm than good, results from a recent poll said.
The Guardian/ICM poll also found the majority of its respondents do not describe themselves as religious. The survey was published Saturday in the Guardian newspaper.
Eighty-two percent of those polled said religion is a cause of division and tension between people, compared to 16 percent who disagreed with that statement.
Regarding personal faith, the poll said 33 percent of participants described themselves as "a religious person," while 63 percent said they were not religious, including more than half of those who said they were Christian.
About 13 percent said they attended a religious service at least once a week; 43 percent said they never attended religious services. Christmas remains a religious festival for many people, with 54 percent saying they intended to attend a religious service during the holiday period.
A Church of England spokesman denied that mainstream religions caused friction. He said society has changed and with people working longer hours or communities displaced so it is harder to fit church attendance into a routine.
The random telephone poll interviewed 1,006 people age 18 or older between December 12 and 13. No margin of error was given.