In Illinois, a federal judge ruled against a state requiring a "moment of silence" saying that it was a breach between church and state. People who would defend having a moment of silence believe that it gives the student freedom to do as they please, however atheists believe that it is a way for religion to be brought back into the schools. (Calefati 2009)
I understand that having prayer in schools would be very discriminating to those who are not Christian, considering our country is very diverse in beliefs and religion. On the other hand, to take out a "moment of silence" where a minute or two is observed for anyone who wants to participate is going a bit far. I think our culture now is so much in fear of being culturally "insensitive" that anything can be considered as "infringing" on someone's rights.
I also think that the battle with the science curriculum is also something where scientists are going a bit far as well. They see it as a way for teachers to slip religion into the curriculum. As a student I was taught to challenge and question everything because learning is supposed to be a continuous process (everything is not in black & white, there are also gray areas as well). Science is a field where new things are constantly discovered and old theories are up for debate, so for some teachers to ridicule their students for questioning certain theories is quite contradictory.
References:
Calefati, Jessica. (2009). http://www.usnews.com/topics/author/jessica_calefati
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