Most self-professed Christians – both Catholics and Protestants – give a lack of time rather than disagreement with Church teachings as the main reason why they don’t go to church regularly, according to a new survey.

The poll, conducted in the Catholic diocese of Camden in New Jersey, found that thirty-eight percent of non-churchgoing Christians said they simply don’t have the time to attend services, while 32pc said they took the day off to spend with their spouse or preferred to do other things. 

Thirty one percent said they or their spouse had to work on Sundays, while 30pc said they hadn’t found a church they liked, and 26pc said they weren’t interested in religion.

The poll also found that practicing and non-Christians are far more likely to give money to charity than those of no religious belief at all.

According to the survey, practicing Catholics were more than twice as likely as non-believers to make charitable donations to non-church organisations. The figures were 67 percent and 31 percent among non-believers.

The poll revealed high levels of confusion among Catholics in the diocese about what their Church teaches. For example, 57 percent said they believed that Jesus was human and committed sins while on Earth. This dropped to 33 percent among Protestants.

Meanwhile, only 35 percent of Catholics said they have a responsibility to tell others about their faith. This compares with 62 percent of Protestants who believe the same thing.

When asked about their current faith compared to their faith perspective when growing up, three out of every four Camden Diocese residents (75pc) say they have the same religious faith today that they had as a child, while 24pc have either changed to a different faith or significantly changed their views. 

According to the poll, 90pc of Catholics said they had maintained the religious faith of their youth, a far higher percentage than any other faith group. Among those adults with no faith, 70pc “lost” their faith, saying they changed their faith views since childhood.

A majority of adults throughout southern New Jersey hold the Catholic Church in high regard; 23pc have a very favorable impression of the church, while 33pc say it is somewhat favorable. One out of every three residents have an unfavorable opinion (17pc somewhat favorable, 15pc very unfavorable).

Nearly the same proportion of residents have a favorable impression of the local Catholic church or parish (28pc very favorable, 26pc somewhat favorable), while one in five have an unfavorable opinion (10pc somewhat unfavorable, 9pc very unfavorable), and 27pc have no impression at all.

Bishop Joseph Galante, said the findings of the poll were both “disturbing” and “intriguing”.

Speaking to news website CourierPostOnline.com, he said: “The number of Catholics who have a very flawed, a seriously flawed, understanding of who Jesus is, that’s troublesome,” Galante said. “We’ve got to re-focus on how we teach and inform people. Jesus is the foundation of who we are as Catholics.

“If we’re not getting that through to people, that’s part of the reason why we’re having problems.”