a fascinating new study by the Theos think tank, founded in 2006 with the support of then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, suggests that despite the Anglican leadership's reputation for being what Theos called “beardy lefties” most Anglicans remain firmly on the Right, while Muslims in particular veer to the Left.

On Sunday, Theos highlighted the following findings, which are taken from their press release:

** People who attend a religious service regularly, irrespective of religion are most consistently pro-welfare. Non-believers and nominal believers tend to be more hostile to welfare and more individualist.

** Anglicans are most consistently authoritarian in their political values, in such areas as law and order, respect for British values, and discipline at school.

** Catholics are the most left-wing of Christian groups. They are more welfarist than Anglicans and also less authoritarian.

** People from minority religions (the majority of whom are Muslim) are most consistently left-wing in their values.

** At the 2010 elections, Muslims tended strongly to vote Labour, as did Hindus and Sikhs less strongly. By contrast, the Jewish vote was more Conservative and Buddhist vote more Liberal Democrat

** People of no religion are most consistently libertarian, taking a strong line against censorship, although they, like others, have become more authoritarian over the last ten years. They are also more sceptical towards management and more convinced that “ordinary working people do not get their fair share of the nation’s wealth".

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