ATHEISTS have less affairs than Christians in the UK with more than ten Christian adulterers for every one Atheist, according to an online dating site.

IllicitEncounters members were asked what religious group they belonged to and Atheists scored only 6%, compared to 64% classing themselves as Christian.

The married dating site says the information crushes the argument that people who have no God have no moral compass.

“It’s incredibly ironic that Atheists are more faithful than Christians,” Claire Page, spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com said.

"It proves the argument that what some people perceive as immoral – like adultery – isn’t increased by the lack of spiritual guidance.

"If the only reason you don’t kill someone, or steal, or covet thy neighbour’s wife, is because it tells you not to in the bible, to me, that’s a lot more worrying.

"To me, that says you can’t think for yourself what is right and wrong. Besides, for us and our 987,000 customers, we don’t look at affairs like most people do.

"There are many reasons people have affairs, it’s not as black and white as some people think.”

“Often, non-believers have a better interpretation of what is wrong and right than believers.”

Psychologist Lucy Redford added: “One of the main reasons people step away from Christianity is because they see hypocrisy, guilt and double-standards in the scriptures.

"For many, following a value system in a world that seems crippled with warped ideas and moral codes is, on one hand, a saving grace, but atheists are independent in their thinking - they don’t have an organisation telling them how to think, and they challenge any organised systems, like religion, government, work or politics they see as unjust.

"They don’t believe God makes everything happen – instead they make their own luck and take responsibility for the consequences.”

They asked their site users: Which Religious Group Do You Belong To?

Catholic 12%

Church of England 24%

Other Christian 29%

Jewish 2%

Buddhist 1%

Muslim 1%

Hindu 1%

Atheist 6%

No answer or Not sure 25%

Sample size 987,000