Ruffling the feathers of the religious has never bothered Lady Gaga so it will be no surprise that she’s pushing the boundaries of taste yet again in her forthcoming documentary.

And this time she has a partner in crime, designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.

A short clip from the documentary, Gaga by Gaultier, shows the singer dressed up as a nun and leaning forward as Gaultier, dressed as a priest, appears to spank her.

The footage was shot in Gaultier’s Paris studio and is set to air on the US network CW on September 12.

Lady Gaga was raised in New York as a Roman Catholic and attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart school.

She doesn't practise the faith and is instead often accused of sending out confused spiritual messages.

Comparisons have frequently been drawn between her work and that of Madonna, who provoked the ire of the church with her video to her 1989 hit, Like a Prayer.

There was anger among some Catholics over Lady Gaga’s last song, Judas, but nothing near the levels triggered by Like a Prayer, whose combination of burning crosses and sexual imagery even prompted the Vatican to issue a statement of condemnation.

In the video to Judas, Lady Gaga struck a risqué tone, wearing a black bikini top with crosses on the front and holding a gun to Judas’ head, while Jesus appears clad in an open black leather jacket.

She was accused by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights of “trying to rip off Christianity” but the 25-year-old insisted that the video was not a religious statement.

“It’s a metaphor. It’s not meant to be a biblical lesson,” she said.