A majority (52pc) of Democrat voters in the US say they seldom or never go to church, according to new data published by Gallup yesterday.

However, 27pc say they go weekly and another 20pc say they go once a month or more.

The Gallup poll also shows that 40 percent of Republicans say they go to church weekly, 21 percent say they go to church monthly or more, and 38 percent of Republicans say they seldom or never go to church.

The news comes as Democratic President Barack Obama’s (pictured) administration is embroiled in a number of rows over controversial policies which threaten religious freedom.

The past few months have seen senior figures from the Catholic Church in the US criticise the President over plans which would force Catholic and other religious organisations, including schools and hospitals, to cover contraception, sterilisation and some abortifacient drugs in healthcare plans for its employees.

It has long been recognised by political analysts that, since the 1970s, the Democratic Party has been the more secular of the two main political parties.

When asked by Gallup what their religious denomination was, 19 percent of Democrats said they had none, while nine percent of Republicans said they belonged to no religious denomination.

The poll shows that Democrats are less religious than the typical American and Republicans are more religious.

Overall, 33pc of Americans said they went to church weekly, 20 percent said they went at least monthly, while 46 percent of Americans told Gallup they seldom or never went to church.

Gallup defines “Democrats” in its polling analysis as “those who either identify as Democrats or who identify as independents but say they lean toward the Democratic Party”.

Similarly, it defines “Republicans” as “those who either identify as Republicans, or who identify as independents but say they lean toward the Republican Party”.