The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell said there was a perception that going to church was only for the highly educated.

"Even today I meet people who think you have to be highly educated or suited and booted to be a person who goes to church. That's so frustrating,” he said.

“How did it come to this, that we have become known as just the Marks and Spencer option when in our heart of hearts we know that Jesus would just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi?”

Bishop Cottrell pointed to the church’s humble beginnings when Jesus preached to people in the open air.

"Jesus got us started with church simply. Like this - sitting us down in groups on the grass and telling simple stories. Not simplistic. But certainly not complicated. All his first disciples were down-to-earth people who wanted to know what life was all about,” he said.

His comments come just days before churches across the UK open their doors for Back to Church Sunday, an initiative begun by the Church of England to encourage lapsed Christians to make the return to church.

As many as 16,000 Church of England churches are expected to take part this Sunday, as well as hundreds of churches in other denominations.

The campaign has the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who said he wanted the nation to know that it was loved.

"The Church's responsibility to welcome all comers isn't, of course, restricted to one Sunday in the year,” he said.

“But this Sunday in particular prompts us to do a better job of saying to people that we are truly glad to see newcomers and they always have a right to be part of the family.

“I pray that this year's Back to Church Sunday will assure the whole population of this country that they are loved and valued by God - and by those who worship God."