Opinion on whether state schools should be completely secular is divided, a recent YouGov poll has revealed.
The poll, conducted on behalf of Prospect magazine, asked whether the Government should "make all state schools secular and stop them having special links with the Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any other religion".
Nearly half of those surveyed (48%) agreed that state schools should be entirely secular.
Those opposing stood at 38%, while an additional 14% said they "don't know".
Support for secular state schools was strongest in Scotland, with 63% in favour.
Opposition was at its highest in the North, at 43%.
The question was posed as part of a wider survey on education. The poll also found strong support for a ban on schools supplying unhealthy food and drink (72%) and mobile phones in the classroom (83%).
Three quarters expressed their support for a return to "traditional" history teaching covering the main dates and events in British history and teaching students "to be proud of Britain's past".
