Lord's Prayer ‘more recognised than famous Star Wars phrase'
The survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by the Church of England, also suggested that the prayer is better known than the national anthem and Shakespeare's 'To be, or not to be' line from Hamlet.
It found that 80.3 per cent of respondents correctly identified 'Give us this day our daily bread' as being from the prayer, which is also known as the Our Father.
The figure is just above the 79.9 per cent who recognised 'May the force be with you' as a recurring phrase in the Star Wars series of science fiction films.
Meanwhile, a total of 89 per cent said they had heard of the Lord's Prayer, including 88 per cent of respondents who identified themselves as having no religion.
The Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, said the findings suggested that the prayer continued to 'resonate with people of all faiths and none'.
He said: 'These results reflect what we've been hearing across the north of England through our Faith In The North initiative, which invites people to explore the Lord's Prayer.
'In a world of shifting cultures and changing circumstances, the Lord's Prayer remains a steady guide – perhaps never more so than now.'
The archbishop added: 'Lines like 'Give us this day our daily bread' speak powerfully to today's challenges, reminding us to seek sufficiency, not excess, and to consider what 'enough' truly means.'
Researchers also found that 73 per cent of those polled recognised 'To be, or not to be' from Hamlet, while 63 per cent correctly matched the lines 'Happy and glorious, long to reign over us' to God Save the King.
Around one in six identified 'Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few' as being from Winston Churchill's wartime speech to MPs in 1940.
More than half recognised 'You'll never walk alone' as a line from the song of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, as popularised by Gerry and the Pacemakers and Liverpool Football Club.
The least well-known of the seven extracts presented to respondents was 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' from Charles Dickens 's A Tale of Two Cities, which was only matched by 39 per cent.
Polling firm Savanta carried out the survey between May 23 and 26 on behalf of the Church.
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