Researchers at Oxford University, the University of Maryland in the US and University of Otago in New Zealand found stereotypical of views of people with faith can make them less attractive to non-believers.
The study suggests those looking for a date would be less likely to choose someone claiming to be religious because they may hold traditional or rigid views.
The research cited Simpsons character Ned Flanders as someone who represents the stereotypical religious person - friendly but dogmatic.
Revd Dr Jonathan Jong, from Oxford University was part of the team looking into the issue. Speaking on Premier's News Hour he claimed Christians could combat this stereotype.
He said: "People of a more mature spirituality or more mature religious beliefs tend not to be any more open or closed minds than their secular counterparts.
"We tend to find that the preference for somebody who shares your religiosity - that effect is more pronounced among non-religious people.
"It looks like religious people in our sample didn't care as much about whether or not the person was religious. In the cases where we had individuals saying they were open minded the bias diminished.
"One of the things that Christians can do is to demonstrate their openness to new experiences, their openness to different perspectives, different points of view."