How tolerant are Ivy League schools towards atheism?

@Lindagaf: That actually sounds as though it could have been a very cool “why this school” supplement (if they asked for one). I don’t think that any schools (apart from the ones linked to a certain persuasion or denomination) care about a student’s beliefs. I also don’t think a student should feel a need to hide his or her beliefs when it’s relevant to something the student would like to talk about.

I really tried to encourage her to write about that, but this college is probably her top reach choice, and she felt it was too risky to say she is an atheist. She ended up emphasizing how the windows made her feel at home, in a nutshell.

My D is a Penn sophomore, and an atheist. I’ve met some friends of hers from various clubs and organizations, and everyone is overly accepting of others beliefs. Honestly some of the most open minded, intelligent young people I’ve ever met.

Maybe it’s there so on campus organizations can contact students of their faith. The Newman Center will contact Catholics and the Hillel may contact Jewish students for example.

Thank you, this was very helpful.

The info is mostly used to connect you with the appropriate organizations if you are interested when you are on campus. I did not check a box while I know some friends that did. Hence I was not contacted and some of the campus organizations did reach out to my friends when they got on campus

It should have no impact on your applicaton

@AboutTheSame - what if the applicant was a strong Muslim, or a strong Jew, strong Hindu or strong Buddhist?

String Buddist? He plays an instrument?

As long as The Donald is not sitting on the admissions committee, each of those applicants would still be looked at for the strength of their academic resumes, and potential for contributing to the vibrancy and diversity of an educational community.

@ClarinetDad16 : I reject the snide insinuations of your post. My answer is exactly the same.

“I don’t think that any schools (apart from the ones linked to a certain persuasion or denomination) care about a student’s beliefs. I also don’t think a student should feel a need to hide his or her beliefs when it’s relevant to something the student would like to talk about.”

How hard is that to understand?

The religion you put down on the common app will have absolutely zero impact on your college app for the Ivies. I think most even opt out of seeing what you put; at least I know Brown does that.

@AboutTheSame

Just to clarify something from a purely logical perspective, your assertion in post #9 that (NOT positive = negative), or even implies negative, is incorrect. There is the third possibility of neutral, or zero if you will. If I say a number is not positive, that does not make it negative. It could be the number zero. And not only was there no such implication in the other member’s statement that (not positive = negative) but in fact it was clear that some were already saying this is a neutral issue, thus making any such implication moot.

My own suspicion is that this question on the application is simply for statistical purposes because both people and the Department of Education ask these kinds of questions all the time.

In agreement with fallenchemist about not positive not being the same as negative. In a country where there are a significant number of Christians, if a school is seeking to ensure diversity in all areas, including religion, stating membership in a Christian faith may not be a positive, as it may place you in a majority group. That doesn’t mean it’s a negative. Just that it doesn’t give you a bump. A positive might be belonging to an under-represented group. That could be atheist, agnostic, Wiccan, Confucian, any under-represented group. It could potentially be a negative if an applicant stated intolerance for any religion other than their own. That’s different from not being a positive.

Certainly for schools that are administered by a certain faith, this number can be used to evaluate how comfortable a student who is not a member of that faith might feel. For example, at Jesuit Catholic schools there is typically a higher percentage of non-Christians than at, say, The Catholic University of America or other schools on the Newman list. A school whose religious roots are more historic, such as Duke, would likely have a more diverse population than Bob Jones University. A school with historically Jewish roots, such as Brandeis, may publicize these numbers to show that students of all faiths are welcome.

The numbers are used more as a marketing tool than admissions criteria.

@AboutTheSame Your original statement didn’t say any strong commitment to faith was a positive - only Christianity. Thus my very valid question as many of the faiths I listed have very strong representation on Ivy campuses.

@ClarinetDad16 : This whole thread is absurd. I have not been to church since D was in the 1st grade pageant on Christmas Eve – and D is now in grad school. It appears that none of you can actually read a sentence and understand what it means. Let me repeat what I posted before:

“I don’t think that any schools (apart from the ones linked to a certain persuasion or denomination) care about a student’s beliefs. I also don’t think a student should feel a need to hide his or her beliefs when it’s relevant to something the student would like to talk about.”

How hard is that to understand? How the heck is that related to Christianity? I oppose ANY discrimination – including a bias against Christians. I’m probably halfway between agnostic and generic deist. I am tired of dealing with this stupidity.

FWIW, my kid’s common app essay was about growing up atheist in a Mormon community. She was accepted to or waitlisted by all the selective schools she applied to. She currently attends Harvard.

So obviously, not a problem.

I wonder if she had written about growing up Mormon in an atheist community if the results would have been the same. Probably not.

@zinhead: I went to one of the “hotbeds” of the liberal elite colleges. The whole gamut of devotedness to religion thrived. In my friend circle of 12 guys, 3 of us chose to serve as ministers as careers – one out of college, another after a career in finance and another while also being a biology professor. I trace my own seeds of deep faith to people whom I met while there. I wouldn’t trade it for a second nor would I hesitate to send my own kids there.

You’re definitely wrong. I’ve got a former student at Harvard who wrote about being Christian in a predominantly atheist community/family/school.

Wonderful, but aren’t you a middle aged guy? As they say, the past is another country, and your experiences 20-40 years ago may not be applicable today.

I deleted a statement in which Zinhead essentially accused the member of fabrication. This violates the Terms of Service when there is no evidence to back it up. People can decide for themselves if the above, which I did not delete, is a valid argument. - FC