<p>So like any good Texan girl, I was doing the perfunctory application to Baylor when I realized they require you to cite your religion. Will marking atheist decrease my chances of being accepted? I'm already on the upper end of their accepted applicants in other areas (2050 SAT, 3.65 GPA) with some pretty good titles (QuestBridge finalist, president of a few clubs).</p>
<p>And don't comment about the 'fitting-in' aspect; I grew up in a Christian family, I don't mind attending church if I can get a good Financial Aid package. I just want to know if they'll blacklist me for responding honestly.</p>
<p>So the application has a box to check for atheism? Interesting. If that is what you consider yourself, and the application actually has that box, then why wouldn’t you check it? The implication of that question would be that the school wants to know, and acknowledges that some applicants are self-described atheists. In other words, unless you think the school is trying to trick atheists into revealing themselves, it would seem to me they want you to be honest and they are not attempting to blacklist your application right off the bat.</p>
<p>My only question to you is whether you have considered your integrity and your willingness to accept that the end justifies the means. You are willing to sit in church, and further, take Baylor’s required Bible courses, despite your self-proclaimed atheism, if doing so means you get a great financial package. Why are you willing to do this? I am sure you will be able to pass for Christian, if necessary, since you know how to talk the talk and walk the walk, but wouldn’t you rather be honest?</p>
<p>I think if you choose to apply to Baylor you should do everything you can to make sure they know that you are an atheist. At least you would know that, if admitted, and if offered scholarships, the school has accepted you for what you claim to be. Time to learn to take a stand regardless of the consequences, don’t you think?</p>
<p>The president of Baylor was a leader in passing proposition 8 (banned gay marriage in California). This is one of the most close minded and conservative schools there is. If you were to get in, would you really want to be in that environment?</p>
<p>^I hardly see the problem with that. A leader of a Christian school should be expected to behave in accordance with Christian beliefs (and the belief in question here is explicitly and plainly stated in the Bible, requiring twisted convolutions to argue for the other side).</p>
<p>To Zamiota:
Just be honest in your application. If you’re going to be rejected from some place for being an atheist, you probably wouldn’t like being there anyway.</p>
<p>Hey, I got into Baylor in November. I didn’t specifically put atheist but I think I put either agnostic or non-affiliated or something. I was still accepted. I don’t think they would hold that against you.</p>
<p>Baylor has a fairly active Secular Student Alliance affiliate. I don’t think being an atheist is going to hurt you, especially if you’re a good applicant anyway. You just might hate the place, though.</p>
<p>@collegebound752 I’ve always laughed at comments similar to this one. A lot of people prefer conservative Universities and many of us (speaking from the same generation as you), still do not support gay marriage. I am one of those people.</p>
<p>Quite frankly, I find it ironic that you call us close-minded, yet you are unwilling to listen to arguments that don’t support social liberalism. Learning to deal with people who disagree with you is an important aspect of life and I hope you one day learn to accept those who oppose gay marriage in the same way that you accept us to accept the lifestyle with open arms. </p>
<p>@BadgerState His comment was directed at OP. Most atheists I know at Baylor are pretty uncomfortable with their conservative environment and administration and rejoice at every single step Baylor takes away from the SBC. If OP is worried about Baylor’s cultural environment, the term “close-minded” is useful (even if inaccurate; I apologize on their behalf for any insult it may cause) because it likely means the same thing to both @collegebound752 and OP and thus becomes meaningful in communication.</p>
<p>I’ll avoid commenting on the rest to keep this thread from turning into a political flamewar.</p>
<p>@BadgerState Can you read? I’m speaking to an atheist. A conservative school is not often the ideal place for an atheist, as most conservative schools are religious.</p>
<p>I am going to support BadgerState on this one ONLY in the sense that close minded was a poor choice of description if you don’t know the guy you are talking about. Or worse in this case every student in the school that you are describing. How do you know that he/they didn’t listen in a very open minded way to every argument that was made arguing the other side and then make a decision that they felt was the best one, given their value system? You may find that unlikely in this case, but as a general rule it is unfair to describe people that you don’t know as being close minded because they hold a different position. You can certainly say you think they are very wrong, so for example phrase it as “Why would you want to be at a school that is so conservative and holds such different beliefs on the whole?”. Saying they are close minded is truly saying something else entirely.</p>
<p>There is no better way to affirm your atheist beliefs than to attend a religious school. If you can manage to maintain your eye-rolling to a minimum, you will be reminded every day your abilities to think freely, critically and demand evidence over faith. Double check whether you can leave that question blank, choose other or non christian. Otherwise, go for it! Just remember that most religious people can tolerate other religions to a certain extent, but some just can not allow an atheist go without being converted.</p>
<p>Just a question, @frugaldoctor, but isn’t the virtual definition of faith believing despite the absence of evidence, believing something that cannot be proved (or presumably disproved)? Because really, atheism is a position of faith as well.</p>
<p>But I like your point that if you can come out of 4 years at a school like Baylor or Notre Dame or other schools more openly tied to a religious basis and still feel your atheistic belief is correct, then you know you have really tested something very fundamental to what makes you, you.</p>
<p>I think it’s funny that after all this time there are still people responding to this post. Ultimately, I didn’t apply to Baylor, but not because of the religious factor. It just sort of fell out of my thoughts, like most colleges do when HS seniors are selecting their picks.</p>
<p>I don’t think of religion as a close minded perspective; I just don’t see the world in the way that religious people do. What authority do I have to insist that I am correct? Those who go on moral rampages when their beliefs are opposed don’t make much sense to me. It is a diversity of views and a willingness to accept others that truly breeds progress. </p>
<p>Though this thread has little personal relevancy to me, I still think it may be useful… To the people who are browsing this thread with similar questions: go for it! If a historically religious college has good academic programs, there is no reason that an atheist shouldn’t apply other than his/her fear of opposition. If it really makes you uncomfortable, then yeah, maybe you shouldn’t do it, but think it could be a good learning experience on tolerance and humility.</p>
<p>@frugaldoctor That was a little rude, you seem to be insulating that those of faith do not think critically on the issues. I am a man of faith and the more I question my own, the more affirmed I am in my knowledge that God is not only real, but ever so present in my life. I do not appreciate the notion that those who choose to follow Christ are blindly guided in that direction like lost sheep. </p>
<p>I love for my faith to be challenged. That’s how I grow. </p>
<p>Anyway, this isn’t a faith discussion and this topic is no longer relevant given the student already made a choice. </p>
<p>@BadgerState the comments in this discussion should not shock you as being rude, rather they are to be expected. 1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 14:1 & then there is Psalms 14:1 as well.</p>
<p>@mytwods - Yes, of course faith will always be tested, and people that don’t believe usually can’t understand people of faith. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t still more than a little bit arrogant, condescending and rude that some atheists feel so superior that they can talk about “eye-rolling” about professions of faith. I do wonder if they even hear themselves. It’s amazing how many of them insist that we all have to be “inclusive” and have “open discussions that respect all points of view”, but seem to not really quite mean what they say. Then there are others like Zamiota who, presumably at a much younger age. seem to show a greater amount of openness and maturity in their thinking.</p>
<p>Baylor isn’t a good school for people who are atheist and agnostic. I say this as someone who’s best friend goes to Baylor and is agnostic, it kind of dominates a good bit of the culture there.</p>
<p>@fallenchemist, I don’t believe that “eye-rolling” about believers was describing a positive attribute about atheists, although @frugaldoctor can clarify his intentions.</p>