Churches that want to grow their congregations should consider targeting older people who work out at a gym or who campaign for a political party, new research shows.

People aged over 60 who join a gym are more likely to join a church, the report says.

The finding also applies to mosques and synagogues, even when factoring in the trend in older people becoming more active, according to new analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Research fellow Dr Cesira Urzi Brancati of the International Longevity Centre, who carried out the analysis ahead of the centre's conference in London next month, said there had however been a "marked decline" in the number of people aged 60 to 70 belonging to a religious group in the last decade.

He analysed ageing records from 2004 to 2014.

Not only were over 60s who join a political party eight per cent more likely and those who join four per cent more likely also to join a religious group.

In addition, belonging to a religious group had a small but positive impact on their sense of worth and happiness.

The Church of England recently disclosed proposals to drop its legal requirements for weekly Sunday services as figures published today showed further falls in attendance.

"Outreach programmes by religious groups looking to grow their congregations might best be focused on over 60s who have recently started hitting the gym or campaigning with their local political party of any affiliation," said the International Longevity Centre.

Dave Eaton, policy and public affairs officer, said: "Every aspect of our society and economy is affected by our rapidly ageing population. This analysis might suggest that efforts to boost membership across a range of organisations could be best focused on targeting a new generation of over-60s looking to try something new and become more active."

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton will address the conference November on the future of faith in an ageing society.