The country's largest provider of religious instruction, the Churches Education Commission, told its followers in a recent newsletter that schools were an "under-utilised mission field".

"Churches by and large have not woken up to the fact that this is a mission field on our doorstep. The children are right there and we don't have to supply buildings, seating, lighting or heating," commission director David Mulholland wrote.

Christian followers were also encouraged to join school boards so they could have "more influence" on holding religious study in class.

Public schools are secular but can choose to "close" in the middle of the day for religious lessons.

Rationalist David Hines said the loophole allowing Christian education undermined the secular education system.

"The teachers are all evangelical Christians ... the values do not include respect for other religions or for secular value systems."

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