Primacy of the State?

"Most history textbooks presuppose the primacy of the State over the Church, and in fact, they presuppose the State over al other institutions. Most history texts are products subsidized by the State apparatus. Forms of government, names of rulers, and laws enacted form the bulk of the text. In cases where the Christian Church became a bit too pushy-as was all too often the cases in the middle ages-the books lean toward the side of civil government over the Church. The rise of nation states and absolute monarchs rescued mankind from the Church. In some cases, voting rights are exalted over theological truths. It does not matter that Puritan women were taught the truth about Christ; they could not vote in colonial Massachusetts." Ben House, Punic Wars and Culture Wars, p. 19