The Myth of Christian America: What You Need to Know About the Separation of Church and State.

By Mark Weldon Whitten, Macon: Smyth and Helwys, 1999. 122 pages.

In nine essays designed to help pastors and laypersons learn the true meaning of the separation of church and state, Mark Whitten descries and debunks certain myths concerning church-state separation. The Christian-America myth, promoted by the Religious Right, claims that the First Amendment would allow nonpreferential aid to Christian denominations to the exclusion of non-Christian religions. According to Whitten, such an interpretation not only misinterprets the history surrounding the Constitutional Convention, the writing of the Constitution, and the practices of presidents Jefferson and Madison; it also is inconsistent with the ideals of authentic Christianity.

Myth number two, also espoused by the Religious Right, claims that the Founding Fathers never intended the separation of church and state because these words are absent from the Constitution. Whitten, however, points out that opponents of church-state separation affirm the separation of powers, though these words are not found in the Constitution, and that most who reject separation believe in the Trinity, a word not found in the Bible. Whitten maintains that the separation of church and state is a constitutional principle based on historical facts.

A third myth is the myth of a secular America, which Whitten describes as an expression of "antirelgious bigotry and intolerance" (p. 28). This myth claims that religion is a private matter and has no relevance to the public square. Whitten agrees with the Religious Right that the government has given a quasi-establishment status to secular humanism. Whitten provides good examples that contradict myths one and two, but here he fails to offer concrete examples that represent this privileged status.

Whitten is uncomfortable with Jefferson's wall metaphor, calling it "inadequate and misleading" (p. 29). He describes two alternative metaphors, a "barbed-wire-fence metaphor" and a "troubled marriage metaphor," and presents the strengths and weaknesses of these metaphors. In the end, however, Whitten wonders if there is "a metaphor that can more adequately serve the ideal of church-state separation" (p. 32). Many, however, would state that no such metaphor exists, and even if it did exist, it is doubtful that anyone on the left or the right would find it adequate. As the poet Robert Frost reminded us, there is something about a wall that makes us uncomfortable and tempts us to tear it down, but in the end, walls, like fences, make good neighbors.

The Myth of Christian America is an excellent resource for small groups wanting to learn about the ever-present controversy involving church-state separation. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter are designed to challenge the readers to formulate their own positions. The bibliography points beginners and advanced students to sources that would be most helpful to each group. Whitten also includes eight appendices containing excerpts of relevant documents concerning the separation of church and state.--Reviewed by Keith Durso, Adjunct Professor of Religion and of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina.