ABSTRACT
The contemporary New Zealand education system bears clear traces of its nineteenth-century English and Scottish origins. But like much of the fauna and flora introduced at the same time, it has its own characteristics. In 1949 a new body, the New Zealand Council for Christian Education, was created to replace the moribund Bible-in-Schools League. This council became the spokesman for all Protestant groups seeking to have religious instruction made a regular and legitimate part of the primary school curriculum. Few New Zealanders seriously believe that the concessions granted to Protestants seeking to introduce religious teaching into state primary schools constitute a 'fundamental breach' of the public and secular nature of the system. The Protestant and Catholic Churches reacted differently to the Act's denial of financial aid to denominational schools. The Protestants allowed their schools to become part of the public system and concentrated on amending the Act to permit religious instruction in state schools.
