<p>I used be a Christian and go to church for several years. But, my religion shattered after my close friend dead during a mass school shooting recently which I believed our God could save him and He didn't. It doesn't matter how many times I argued with myself, I just can not trust Him anymore. Now, I'm applying for colleges and I'd like to know how does it affect my admission if I share my real feeling in my personal statement. Appreciate for your help. </p>
<p>A 2007 pew poll shows that 78% of the US is Christian. Also, keep in mind that most college admissions officers are liberal arts majors… are you sure that you want to potentially hurt your chances by talking about this controversial topic? <a href=“Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center”>Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center;
<p>I’d say that unless you are confident that you can conceptually frame your essay in a positive light, and have the writing skills to pull it off, you probably shouldn’t attempt this. I’m an atheist myself, but tbh I don’t have the balls to talk about my disbelief in god. Remember – in a sense this essay is an advertisement promoting yourself to colleges. Not a medium to express your inner frustrations and every aspect about yourself, maybe use a blog for that lol</p>
<p>The shooting itself may be interesting though. Just make sure you don’t spin it into something negative and destructive, show how it changed you in a positive sense. </p>
<p>I agree with Yui 110%. The shooting itself has potential as an essay topic, but it would be rather hard to talk about the religious aspect of the experience without either offending the admissions committee or seeming like you’re trying to pull the “I’ve had this traumatic experience happen in my life so please empathize and accept me!” card. Even then, if you focus solely on the shooting, it’s still rather hard to seem as though you’re NOT trying to pull the latter (aka my life is hard pls take pity on me).</p>
<p>Talking about being nonreligious isn’t bad by itself. I wouldn’t call myself an atheist, but I’m definitely an agnostic of sorts, I suppose. People on adcoms have seen their fair share of diversity and variety, and someone expressing nonreligious sentiment is probably nothing new. However, it’s important to make sure you don’t potentially offend someone’s beliefs when you express your own. IMO that’s not even the major issue; the bigger problem is whether you can talk about your loss in faith in a way that shows how the situation has positively affected you and spurred some sort of personal growth of character.</p>
<p>Yui, Thank you for the information & appreciate your opinions for both Yui & Constantius</p>
<p>Colleges admit students with many different religious views, so your own personal views should not affect your admission to college. </p>
<p>However, I think we should choose what to discuss in a college essay and what is personal. Since the loss of your friend is recent, your feelings are also new. I think it is safe to be cautious when writing essays about an emotional topic at the time when feelings are more intense. Whatever you choose to write about, it would be good to have a trusted adult read the essay for some feedback.</p>
<p>I am sorry for the loss of your friend. I hope you have some trusted adults that you can speak to about your feelings. Although you will miss him, it will get better. You can look forward to enjoying the rest of high school and college ahead. </p>
<p>It’s a difficult topic to write about, but you don’t have to shy away from it. I don’t think a school would reject you for changing your beliefs - many, many applicants are not Christian and colleges want a diverse body. It’s just hard to write about a topic so close to you. I second pennylane’s suggestion - have an adult review it and see how it comes off. I am sorry for your loss. </p>
<p>So who are you going to pray to when you finish and submit your apps?</p>
<p>JK—I was reminded of the old saying “there are no atheists in foxholes.”</p>
<p>This is a risky essay topic under any circumstances, but it could also be a compelling one. Are you applying to any religious-affiliated colleges? Although most of them are open to people of any (or no) faith, they might be reluctant to admit someone who proclaimed his atheism in an application essay. You could write about doubts and questions without stating your outright rejection of a Higher Power. </p>
<p>Sharing your doubts about faith/religion is unlikely to be a good essay topic. You might want to discuss it with your priest. I can tell you that most religions believe in free will, and that people kill other people not because god decided whether or not to save someone, but because the killer chose to be a killer (with certain exceptions for the insane, who never had the option of sanity.) God is not responsible for our choices - otherwise free will doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>Without directly addressing the religious aspects, writing about losing a close friend in a school shooting, and how it <em>generally</em> traumatized you and affected your life and viewpoint, seems almost mandatory. I mean, how could you possibly choose something else to write about? (“I considered writing this essay about how my friend was murdered, but I decided I’m not willing to talk about that to total strangers. So I shall tell you about my herb garden instead.” As if the reader could then think about anything else at all.)</p>
<p>I’m a devout Evangelical Christian, and I wouldn’t be in the least offended by an essay discussing why you are an atheist. If you have the skills to do justice to your subject, this could be a very interesting essay.</p>
<p>As far as the statistic cited above that 78% of Americans are Christian, well, no, I doubt that highly. It may be true that if given a list of religions, most Americans would be more likely to say they identify more with Christianity than with, say, Islam, Judaism, etc., but I doubt they really consider themselves practicing Christians. More likely, they are choosing the religion they have the most experience with. So, it’s unlikely that more than a handful of ad comm members really are practicing Christians, and if they are, they are unlikely to deny you admission just because you believe differently. What could hurt you more is a lack of intellectual honesty. Write what you think is right.</p>
<p>I am a devout Presbyterian who will not compromise on my faith. I also publicly champion conservative values, and even work for an institution affiliated with conservatism. </p>
<p>The best part? I’m applying to the most liberal schools across the country. If they purport to formulate a “well-rounded”, “diverse”, and “critical thinkers of the century”, and do not accept students with opposing stances, the mission statement in of itself is a flat-out lie. </p>
<p>Unless it is a college with an active religious affiliation, I doubt that your atheism would create a negative impression. However, since so many accomplished thinkers have written about such issues, e.g., reasons to abandon faith, and it is quite likely that adcoms will be familiar with at least some of what has been written, your arguments may be compared, subconsciously or consciously, with those of some rather sophisticated and capable writers and may suffer in that comparison if you do not put a great deal of effort into them. For that reason, I would advise steering clear of the topic. </p>
<p>Unless you are a genius writer, your essay will end up being same as other essays with similar topics.</p>
<p>My take is that you should put this topic aside. The goal of the essay is for admissions to learn something unique and interesting about you that makes them want to have you on campus. It is a sort of marketing opportunity for you. Don’t take the prompt so literally… there are probably a lot of things you could write on, but this one is just foremost in your mind right now. Save this for discussions with your priest, writing in a journal, blogging about, etc. I think it is fraught with difficulty for a college essay. It is very difficult to hit the right note that doesn’t potentially offend the admissions officer, and to me you sound somewhat confused yourself (so your essay might not be very coherent). I think, like in polite conversation, it is best to avoid religion and politics in a college essay. You risk offending a large percentage of your readers…</p>
<p>In Job 1, Job lost his possessions and sons/daughters but still had faith in God. I’m sorry you had to go through that, and that’s a tough loss to deal with.</p>
<p>As for writing about it in a college admission essay, I also agree it can be risky. You can definitely write about your friend and everything that happened, but saying that you gave up faith because of that one event is probably not the best way to end it.</p>
<p>I got the sense that you were concerned that you would be judged by questioning your religion in the face of a recent tragedy, but you are not the only person who has struggled to resolve this idea. As MITer94 mentioned, this issue was even faced by Biblical figures. I’d be willing to bet that many clergy in many faiths have studied this topic and have counseled their congregants who have struggled with this, and they would likely understand how you are feeling. </p>
<p>How you reconcile this is up to you to decide. You are free to choose religion or being an atheist, at any time, but you also don’t have to come to a conclusion now unless you wish to.</p>