Young people in their late teens and early twenties are more likely to believe in God than millennials in their late twenties and thirties, according to polling that suggests the trend for younger people being less religious is changing.

It has been suggested that the ease with which young people can access information about faith and find like-minded people online may have helped to build and bolster their faith. Experts said they faced less “stigma” from their peers for being open about their religious beliefs and may have been driven to think more about them during the pandemic.

The survey by YouGov also found, however, that religious and spiritual belief in Britain has declined overall during the pandemic, with the proportion of people citing faith in God or some kind of “higher spiritual power” falling from 49 per cent to 44 per cent between January and November this year.