The Bishop of Oxford is advising people who do not believe in Christianity to consider turning to Judaism rather than abandon their belief in God.

The Right Rev Richard Harries, who is chairman of the Council of Christians and Jews, said he would rather people believed in God through the Jewish faith than have no spiritual home at all.

But he had not been tempted to convert because he had always believed in the claims of the Christian church.

The bishop made his suggestion in Manna, the journal of the Sternberg Centre for Judaism in North London, the British Centre of Reform Judaism. He wrote: "Looking at people's spiritual needs, I see a category of people who are natural monotheists and who cannot believe Christian claims about Jesus, but who would love to have a spiritual home.

"While New Age religions offer some spiritual insights, Judaism offers a tradition, a way of believing and behaving that has been tried and tested for 4,000 years."

The bishop's comments come at a time when the Church of England is suffering a recruitment crisis, having reached the end of the so-called Decade of Evangelism without any increase in converts.

In his article, he quoted a passage from Isaiah: "I have informed you and appointed you to be a light to all peoples." He said this was one of the Biblical texts which should be reclaimed by Judaism after years of use by Christians.