Muslims devotees in UK will outstrip churchgoers: Study

The Christian Research figures also suggest that over the same period the number of Muslims at mosques will overtake Church of England members at Sunday services.

Church spokesmen pointed out, however, that a growing number of Anglicans worship at other times of the week.

The study indicated that if the churches do not reverse their historical decline, there will be more active Muslims than Christians in Sunday services across Britain before the middle of the century.

According to a report in The Telegraph today, the figures, based on Government and academic sources and the latest edition of Christian Research’s Religious Trends, came amid growing tensions over the place of Muslims in British society.

They follow fierce rows over the extent to which Islamic law should be recognised and over claims that “no-go” areas for non-Muslims are emerging in parts of the country.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, came under attack when he said that introduction of some aspects of Sharia into British society was “unavoidable”.

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, faced death threats for stating that Islamic extremism was turning some communities into “no-go” areas “where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability”.