The response has been very interesting and has informed our thoughts on this complex topic.

We hope that it has encouraged people to think about the issues and we look forward to more discussion.

We do not plan to publish results of this survey. Online surveys are useful because they are fast, easy and inexpensive but they do not typically gather in-depth, rigorous scientifically valid information. Indeed some complained that 'yes'/'no' answers were inadequate for the complex questions raised.

Furthermore, respondees were self-selected rather than chosen at random. This means the survey, despite its 40,000 returns, is unlikely to be representative of the broad population. Indeed we understand it was widely promoted in ways likely to have skewed the results - in itself an interesting development in debate about the influence of the churches over matters of state!

Again thanks for taking the time to respond.