Of course we should respect a person's right to say a silent prayer to himself. If a child gets mocked for bowing his head before a cafeteria meal, then I would hope educators would have the common sense to defend the child's right to his peers. Public school prayer only becomes controversial when varying groups ask to get their individual thoughts reflected back from kids who may be from a different religious background from them. That is when respect turns into disrespect. It's a challenge to negotiate this, and there's no shortage of impassioned folks on both sides making sure their individual rights aren't infringed. However, I believe it to be possible to affirm mutual respect for our differences without the agenda clash.
