The figures are worrying for church leaders, since the polls targeted active church-goers rather than those who are only nominally Catholic. “I think they’re right,” said Kerk & Leven editor Bert Claerhout in De Morgen. “Certainly for young people, it’s not easy to speak up for your beliefs.” The problem helps explain why half of the respondents were in favour of Catholic schools, with a return to catechism lessons.

Some other poll findings:

• Three-quarters of respondents thought there were too many “inappropriate newcomers” arriving in Flanders; two-thirds thought immigrants ought to undergo a Belgian citizenship course in their own country before coming here

• Only one-quarter thought the integration of Muslims was a possibility; 58% oppose the hijab and 45% are against minarets

• One-third are in favour of separate schools for boys and girls; 83% are for some sort of compulsory social service for young people

• Almost 90% thought the church should take care of asylum seekers, and 85% favoured taxing the rich more

• Half of all respondents supported euthanasia, but only 35% of young people. 100% of under-40s think old people should be cared for in the family; for the rest the figure was 90%