A number of church activities in the United States and in various Third World nations bring issues involving the separation of Church and State once again to the fore. Certainly any serious inquiry into the relationship of the U.S. Government and American missionary groups abroad—particularly with regard to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—must first consider the historical record. Only after a thorough examination of the inconsistencies and constradictions between theory and practice over the nation's more than two hundred-year history can one hope to assess present policies. This, then, is just such an historical overview.