Government ministers see religion primarily as a problem, Labour's faith envoy Stephen Timms has told Christian Today.

The former cabinet minister and MP for East Ham said he was concerned by the government's attitude towards faith. He called on officials to see religion as a solution to problems rather than a problem itself.

"I am worried that sometimes listening to ministers you get the impression they see religious faith as essentially a problem," he said.

"I think that is particularly well illustrated by the announcement a few months ago they want to send Ofsted inspectors into Sunday schoos to check up on what is going on – presumably because they there might be some bad things going on and people might be incited to do things they ought not to.

"This is absurd."

He called on ministers to "acknowledge much more concretely that actually religious faith – Christian faith but also Islamic, Hindu and Jewish faith – are much more the source of solutions to our problems than they are problems themselves."

Timms' comments come after the Archbishop of Canterbury said he would count as an "extremist" under the government's definition. He said officials have such a poor understanding of religion they assume everyone of faith is a bit "bonkers".

Justin Welby condemned a lack of "religious literacy" in government ministers and civil servants.

"The Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, our Government generally, is desperately trying to catch up, to understand a world in which they have no grip on what it is to be religious at all; where religious illiteracy is prevalent and extremely destructive of understanding and where they can't see really the difference between an extremist Muslim group like the Muslim Brotherhood and a sort of conservative evangelical group in a Church of England church."

Timms was speaking at the launch of a report into faith-based charities. Think tank NPC (New Philanthropy Capital) found although a quarter of charities in England and Wales have religious links, they are "viewed with suspicion" and "under-appreciated" due to fears they will use their work to proselytise.

What a difference a faith makes said "low religious literacy" exacerbates the problems for faith-based charities and poor perceptions were "generally unfounded".

It added: "Although some faith-based charities may want to share their faith, they do not see this as a means to convert," said the report.

"However, proselytising is still a concern. Faith-based charities should be aware of this and, if necessary, should spend time considering and clarifying their position on this issue."

Timms defended charities right and "perhaps even their duty" to preach their faith but said they must ensure government money given for public services are not used for proselytism.