1. To minimize conflicts between religious groups and/or ethnic minorities that easily led to wars in Europe, the First Amendment forbade a creation of state-sponsored religion in the United States – that freedom is called “Establishment clause”. The “Lemon test”, consisting of three criteria, establishes whether a government action, such as a law, will promote a religious practice. For a law to pass the Lemon test, it should be neutral in its effects on religion, it must have a secular purpose and it should not entail an extensive effort on part of government to police the boundary between the government and religion.
  2. When defined as a “form of symbolic speech”, burning of the U.S. flag is indeed protected by the First Amendment – in 1989 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson, it was established that the “desecration of a venerated object” law was unconstitutional because it interfered with the freedom of speech.
  3. When someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth” that means they choose to remain silent and protect themselves from self-incrimination. Under the Fifth Amendment’s protection, people have the right to give no evidence in court or to law enforcement officers that would constitute guilt or responsibility for a crime. Furthermore, the silence observed will not constitute guilt or imply that the person is guilty, since an innocent person would testify. 

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