This article is one of the best I have read on the importance of the Bible to understanding literature and understanding the history of the United States. It make several primary points: 1)the Bible is the basis for most of our greatest literature 2)reading the the Bible is essential to knowing the history of the United States and 3)most teenagers today know very little about the Bible because 4)secular interest groups have succeeded in forcing Bible study from the schools.
As a Latter-day Saint, I am as concerned as anyone about the establishment of a single dominant religion. But can’t we separate out the two distinct issues: studying the Bible, at least as literature, does not establish a single religion (in fact, stories from parts of the Bible are part of the Christian, Jewish and even the Muslim religions). Shouldn’t we be supporting Bible study in the schools simply as the promotion of knowledge of literature and history?