It found 55 per cent of regular churchgoers strongly agree that asylum seekers escaping persecution should stay in the UK. On the other hand, 45 per cent of people who attend church less than once a month, or never attend church, agree such asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in the country.
Dr Siobhan McAndrew, a professor at the University of Bristol, told Premier there are contributing factors that make churchgoers more immigration-friendly.
She said: "In churches, there's a lot of voluntary action and a lot of charitable involvement. Churches often act as hubs where local political figures may come and give talks and have debate and they encourage people to mix and feel that problems are solvable. So people that attend church regularly, they have a weaker sense of immigration threatening."
Dr McAndrew also told Premier exposure to people from different backgrounds also makes a difference in a person's attitude toward immigration.
"Churches and church leaders have messages of togetherness and most major religions in Britain are global, so people who attend church more often tend to see people of the same faith in other countries as essentially similar, in that national differences don't really matter so much."
The research concluded that why Christians in name only seem more chilly towards immigrants is less clear, but it's thought that they choose the label 'Christian' to distinguish themselves both from religious minorities, particularly Muslims, Hindus, etc.
The researchers also believe Christians in name also want to separate themselves from the secular, who they may see as metropolitan elite, cosmopolitan, too liberal on many social issues.
Dr McAndrew said: "It's associated with an exclusive idea of Britishness, one from a less diverse time."
