I went through the American School system, which has various different approaches and is supposed to be secular. I've been in three different Elementary schools, two different Middle Schools, one High School and of course College.

The most persecution I got was one afternoon while I was at the play. We were waiting around and someone started discussing God. I said I didn't believe in a God, and they felt the need to hound me about it, going and asking "What started the universe?" and then insisting it was God. I'd come around and ask "Where did God come from then?" The answer was "He's always been there." And so on the discussion went.

When I was taking Biology as a Sophmore (10th year), the teacher spoke about how he didn't agree with Evolution, but was required to teach it. I went to High School in a heavy conservative state, which of course, was Kansas. Yeah yeah we have our issues with the state board of education and their fanatic beliefs, but thankfully we voted those idiots off in the last election.

In College I'm more accepted for having an atheistic view on our existence. I have friends of Christian, Catholic, and deist views, and only a few times have any of them made any comments towards me being an Atheist. One which was an insult towards me for having "high moral standards."

I guess the main thing here is that I only felt persecuted by a few individuals in High School, and none of the teachers held back their opinions. We aren't taught Intelligent Design or Creationism because neither are any kind of science. If nothing else, they belong in a history of science or maybe even Philosophy of Science (though even that's a stretch).