A federal judge has ruled unconstitutional a law passed by the Illinois legislature requiring the state's schools to require a moment of prayer or reflection on the day's activities.

Yesterday U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman ruled the law crosses the line separating church and state under the Constitution.

He says in his ruling that the statute is a "subtle effort" to force students at "impressionable ages" to think about religion.

The ruling came in a suit designed to erase the Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act. It was filed by talk show host Rob Sherman, an outspoken atheist, and his daughter, Dawn, a student at Buffalo Grove High School in suburban Chicago.