Members of Gen Z in their teens and twenties are much less likely to identify as atheists than their middle-aged parents in Generation X or their Baby Boomer grandparents, a study has found.

The youngest generation is also much more likely to say they are “spiritual” than those in the oldest groups.

It provides fresh evidence to challenge the assumption that spirituality is declining with each generation, finding that middle-aged members of Gen X, aged between 45 and 60, are the most irreligious generation, with 25 per cent identifying as atheists.

This is higher than the figure of 20 per cent for those aged over 65 from the Baby Boomer generation and also the figure of 20 per cent for those aged between 25 and 44, broadly within the millennial generation.

The least likely group to call themselves atheists, however, are those aged under 25, only 13 per cent of whom identify as such.