A bid to override the veto of a bill that would make the Bible the official book of Tennessee failed in the state House on Wednesday.
The bid only got 43 of the required 50 votes to turn back the veto.
Republican Governor Bill Haslam vetoed the bill last week. He said it "trivialises" what he considers to be a sacred text.
Haslam, a committed Christian, also said the bill would violate the federal and state constitutions.
"If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn't be recognising it only as a book of historical and economic significance," he said.
"If we are recognising the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of Tennessee by designating it as the official state book. Our founders recognised that when the church and state were combined, it was the church that suffered in the long run."
The sponsor of the bill, former Baptist minister Rep Jerry Sexton, immediately filed to override the veto.
He argued that having the Bible as the state book would honour the economic and historical impact of the Bible in Tennessee history.
"It doesn't force anyone to read it, it doesn't force anyone to buy it, it doesnt (force) anyone to believe it," he said.
"It's simply symbolic."
Each house had to vote against the veto by a majority for the bill to have gone through.
According to The Tennesseean, the last time a veto override was successful in the state was in 2010.
