Tennessee teen in trouble for saying 'bless you' after sneeze

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2. i think this is a bit extreme, but "bless you" is rather different from "bless me".

prayer that is self-directed (please let me pass this math test) or generally directly (praise god, world peace, etc.) is fine and is protected (as long as it's not otherwise disruptive to the classroom or other pupils, which is what the teacher apparently is claiming in this case).

prayer that is directed at other people who might not share the same religious views is not. imagine going up to a non-christian pupil and saying "i hereby baptize you in the name of jesus christ". "bless you" has hardly the same weight as baptizing someone, but it's of the same form, directing one's religious views at another. religious discussions are protected only if everyone involved in the discussion is willing.

personally, i was brought up to say "gesundheit", which means "health". i've never offended anyone with that.