of the rest of the world (throughout history!) is our “separation of church and state”; this would have been incomprehensible to people of any religious *group in the ancient Mediterranean. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that Congress shall not institute a state religion, support any religion with taxes, or prohibit the practice of religion. Because social institutions are interactive, this right (and the laws, regulations, and public policies that enact it) has been a matter of bitter contention