A new global project examines why rejection of belief in God has grown across the globe and says that there are now more atheists than theists in Britain.

The research team from Queen’s University Belfast found that the common notion of the “purposeless unbeliever,” lacking a sense of ultimate meaning in life, objective morality, and strong values is not accurate, challenging the stereotype that atheists lead lives devoid of meaning, morality, and purpose.

One of the researchers, Dr Aiyana Willard, added: “Similarly, the common claim among some atheist commentators that individuals become or remain theists because they are less intelligent or emotionally weaker than others is not true.”

Professor Jonathan Lanman said the key factor in determining belief in God is “the extent to which one is socialised to be a theist”.

“Many other popular theories, such as intelligence, emotional stoicism, broken homes, and rebelliousness, do not stand up to empirical scrutiny”, in terms of determining theism or atheism.

While anti-religious parents do not substantially impact whether their children believe in God, they do strongly influence whether their children are morally opposed to religion, he said.