However, Stephen Evans, a spokesman for the National Secular Society, said the importance Lord Sacks attached to religion was "vastly overblown".

"It's not without good reason that most people no longer trust religious leaders or turn to them for 'moral guidance'," said Mr Evans.

"The decline of religious authority and its ability to influence society brings with it a more tolerant and equal society, and we're perfectly capable of being decent and trustworthy people without it," he said.