The answer is, "No, it is not a myth."  In fact, the claim that separation of church and state in America is a myth is itself a myth ... a myth taught by the Religious Right!  Tragically, the leaders of the Religious Right have deceived many Christians in America into believing their myth.

As noted in the previous portion of this essay, a simple reading of Baptist history (much less a plain reading of American history) in America clearly reveals that although during the colonial era there were theocratic state governments, the American nation was, thanks largely to Baptists, founded squarely on the principle of the separation of church and state.  In fact, until as recently as about 30 years ago, Baptists in America remained solidly committed to the historical separation of church and state in America.

Since the 1960s, however, something once unthinkable has happened:  many Baptists in America have bought into the lie of the Religious Right that there really never was separation of church and state in America ... the same lie that is a basic premise of the "Christian" textbook The Bible in History and Literature.

How could so many Christians in America change their mind about a foundational historical principle of the United States of America?  The short answer is that otherwise good religious people (Christians in this case) can be willfully deceived. 

Take a moment now and test your own knowledge about the separation of church and state. 

Were you surprised at your score?  Were you surprised to find that some beliefs you've been taught as truth, are, in fact, anything but true?

In terms of the separation of church and state, the Religious Right is oblivious to the truth and fully committed to the lies.  David Barton, a self-appointed and untrained historian whose teachings are prominent in the textbook The Bible in History and Literature, is the foremost champion of reconstructing America's history. The following is a sampling of the Religious Right in their own words, defending their denial of the separation of church and state (as you examine the links below, keep in mind the answers to the quiz you just took):

The Myth of Church-State Separation (WorldNetDaily)
Exploding the Myth of Church-State Separation (WorldNetDaily)
The Myth of the Separation of Church and State (Young Earth Club)
Restoring the Foundation (James Dobson)

Following are a few resources which chronicle and explain the historical concept of the separation of church and state (again, as you examine the links below, keep in mind the answers to the quiz you just took):

Baptists and Religious Liberty (George W. Truett)
Baptists on Religious Liberty & the Separation of Church and State (Walter B. Shurden)
Words of Founders, Baptists, and Others About Church and State (BJC)
Notes: The Founding Fathers & Separation of Church & State (R.P. Nettlehorst)

In addition, Wikipedia offers an excellent historical examination of the separation of church and state in a worldwide, historical context.

So, where does all of this lead us?  We can make the following assessments:

1)  The Religious Right's claim that separation of church and state is a myth is blatantly false.

2)  Baptists of the 17th and 18th centuries shed their own blood, amidst terrible persecutions at the hands of colonial "Christian" state governments, to ensure that America was founded squarely on the principle of the separation of church and state, as eventually secured in the First Amendment.

3)  Following almost two hundred years of widespread acknowledgement of the historical separation of church and state in America, many Christians in America in recent decades have been deceived by the false claims of the Religious Right.

4)  The textbook The Bible in History and Literature advances the false teachings of the Religious Right regarding the separation of church and state.

Now we turn our attention to the question of whether the The Bible in History and Literature textbook also advocates a false understanding of the Bible.