For Christians, the Holy Bible—which teaches that God created man and woman to serve as His stewards on Earth—is their most treasured book.

Majority of voters in a recent online poll, however, chose the controversial book of English geologist Charles Darwin, "On the Origin of Species," as the piece of literature that influenced them the most.

It was not indicated whether the Bible was included in the list of books that the public were made to pick their choice.

Darwin's book, published in 1859 and laid the foundation for evolutionary biology, won by a landslide in a survey organised by The Academic Book of the Future project, receiving a quarter of the votes submitted by the public.

The book, which until now remains to be the subject of criticism especially among creationists, went up against 20 other pieces of literature chosen by a panel of experts.

Alan Staton, head of marketing at the Booksellers Association in the United Kingdom, said the experts really expected Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" to be popular among readers, given its tremendous impact on how human beings think of their origins.

"It's not in the least surprising, and completely right, that 'On the Origin of Species' won. No work has so fundamentally changed the way we think about our very being and the world around us," Staton said, as quoted by CNN.

Voted in second place was the political pamphlet "The Communist Manifesto" by philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, published in 1848 to present the problems with capitalism and the merits of communism.

In third place was the literary masterpiece "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare."

Neil Smyth, senior librarian of the Faculty of Arts, University of Nottingham Literary, said voters were really made to choose among a wide variety of books, ranging from scientific ones to those tackling feminism.

"It is important that the list includes titles that might not be considered by some to be academic," Smyth said.

"Shakespeare and Orwell are available in academic libraries. They are read by academic staff and students, and influence ideas for the academic books of the future," he added.

The online survey was organised in line with the Academic Book Week, which explored how scholarly works in the arts and humanities will be produced, read, and preserved in the coming years.