London, June 23 (ANI): Nearly two thirds of Brit teenagers say they don’t believe in the existence of God, according to a new survey.

The study led by Penguin books to mark this week’s publication of controversial novel ‘Killing God’ by Kevin Brooks has shown that half of teenagers have never prayed and 16 per cent have never been to church.

The book is about a 15-year-old girl who questions the existence of God.

Almost 59 per cent of the youngsters said that religion “has a negative influence on the world”.

“I can’t say I am surprised by the teenagers’ responses,” the Telegraph quoted author Kevin Brooks as saying.

“Part of the reason that I wrote Killing God was that I wanted to explore the personal attitudes of young people today, especially those with troubled lives, towards organised religion and the traditional concept of God.

“How can the moralities of an ancient religion relate to the tragedies and disorders of today’s broken world? And why do some people turn to God for help while others take comfort in drugs and alcohol?” he added.

The survey involving 1000 respondents aged 13 to 18 years revealed that 55 per cent of young people are not bothered about religion and 60 per cent only go to church for a wedding or christening.

Teenagers believe that family, friends, money, music and even reality television are more important than religion.

Only 30pct believe in an afterlife, while 41 per cent say nothing happens to your body when you die,

“Many teenagers aren’t sure what they believe at that stage of their lives, as is clear from the number who said they don’t know whether they believe in God,” said a Church of England spokesman.

“On the other hand many of these results point to the great spirituality of young people today that the Church is seeking to respond to through new forms of worship alongside tradition ones,” the spokesman added. (ANI)