This is a quote about Great Britain, but I think it has application to most of North America which shares a common heritage with England.

"We are a nation whose ideals were founded on the Bible. Also it is quite impossible to understand our literature without grasping this fact. That is the strong practical case for ensuring that children at school are given adequate instruction in the part which the Judaeo-Christian tradition has played in moulding our laws, manners and institutions." —Margaret Thatcher