<p>Has anybody actually done this lol? I don't take religion seriously and I'd think it'd be hilarious to blatantly lie about your religious beliefs. I want to go to 2 universities (both Catholic), but I'm not Catholic. Just wondering, has anybody lied or thought about lying about their religious beliefs (if any)?</p>
<p>Well, while I would never do this…the Church prospered through lies and manipulation. Why not give it a taste of its own medicine?</p>
<p>I’d never do this either. These schools I want to attend are both very important to me but their Catholic background is blech. I like your response though lol.</p>
<p>i never lied just to be funny. i’m technically christian but i don’t believe in that stuff. i put “none” on my college apps but put christian on some scholarship sites just to see if i could get some money</p>
<p>I put down that I was Buddhist on the sat</p>
<p>I’ve never lied about religion (my relationship with religious is far too complicated to add deceit on top of everthing), but I think it would depend on how the question was worded. Did it say beliefs or affiliations?</p>
<p>I applied to a few schools with religious affiliations and I espoused beliefs I didn’t have during the interviews. Of course I could claim affiliation with the ones I lied to, so it would be hard for them to objectively prove that I was lying about my beliefs. It felt strangely liberating to lie to religious authorities; almost like well, “If I wasn’t going to the hothouse below, I am now.”</p>
<p>Claiming affiliations you don’t have would constitute an objective falsehood. If it says beliefs, I’d say go crazy. Declare yourself a Mahayana Buddhist adherent with Daoist undertones or a believer in the Man from Mars, ala Stranger in a Strange Land.</p>
<p>On the PSAT junior year, I said that I was an African-American Sikh who wanted to major in public policy analysis and had a F- cumulative average through all four years of high school. It was funny at the time … D:</p>
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[QUOTE=Black’s Law]
These schools I want to attend are both very important to me but their Catholic background is blech.
[/quote]
Yeah, know what you mean here. It would probably also suck to have to attend one of those colleges founded by Congregationalist Puritans for the [education</a> of clergy](<a href=“http://harvard.edu/"]education”>http://harvard.edu/), the [Christianization</a> of Native Americans](<a href=“http://dartmouth.edu/"]Christianization”>http://dartmouth.edu/), or the fitting of Youth [“through</a> the blessing of Almighty God… for Publick employment both in Church and Civil State”](<a href=“http://yale.edu/"]"through”>http://yale.edu/).</p>
<p>Probably wouldn’t be much better to attend a college founded by [Baptist</a> churches](<a href=“http://brown.edu/"]Baptist”>http://brown.edu/) or the [Church</a> of](<a href=“http://columbia.edu/"]Church”>http://columbia.edu/) [England[/url</a>], either, huh? Nor one founded to [url="<a href="http://princeton.edu/“]train”>http://princeton.edu/"]train</a> Presbyterian ministers](<a href=“http://wm.edu/"]England[/url”>http://wm.edu/).</p>
<p>Darn those religious schools. ;)</p>
<p>I was raised in a devout Mormon family… but by the time I was 14, I knew almost certainly that it wasn’t true. I don’t know how I’ll ever break it to my family… my ancestors like rubbed shoulders with Joseph Smith and stuff, and my great-great-grandfather had 5 wives! I’ve considered myself agnostic for years and have never brought up my mormon heritage unless the other side was mormon or if my family was around. On the other hand, I’ve never brought up my agnostic beliefs if my family or any mormons were around. It’s actually pretty tough, this double life and all.</p>
<p>My mom expects me to go to BYU (I would drown there), while I want to go to Brown or Berkeley… 
So yeah, lying about my religion happens all the time with me.</p>
<p>Don’t say anything. It’s not gonna be technically lying.</p>
<p>“I don’t take religion seriously and I’d think it’d be hilarious to blatantly lie about your religious beliefs.”</p>
<p>What’s hilarious about that?</p>
<p>I suspect you’re more interested in religion than you allow yourself to realize. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be considering going to a school connected with a faith and you wouldn’t be pondering lying about your religion. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be funny if you lied and said you were Catholic, got into the colleges, and then converted? I think that would be absolutely hilarious!</p>
<p>To Geek_Mom - All I can say is you got me :p. But when I think of those schools, I don’t really see their religious affiliation like I do with Georgetown and Notre Dame. Like people will instantly know that Georgetown and Notre Dame are Catholic devoted. The Ivy Leagues, however, aren’t really known for their Christian background.</p>
<p>To Nortstarmom - Yeah, that’d be hilarious if I got converted. It sounds like I’ve offended in a way and I’m sorry if I did. I’ve never taken it that seriously and yeah, maybe I am more interested in religion than I make myself out to believe. Although I consider attending these 2 Catholic schools, I express no interest in Catholicism…for now :p. Who knows, I might decide to major in theology or something.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should lie about being Catholic. Either you’re Catholic or you’re not. You can be Catholic, that is be baptised Catholic and not believe any of it. Most Catholic schools don’t care anyway. Except for maybe Notre Dame and Holy Cross. They’re pretty Catholic. I think like 85% of their students are Catholic. But BC, Georgetown, and other Jesuit schools are pretty laxed.</p>
<p>sgtpepper08, Holy Cross is also Jesuit.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=Black’s Law]
Like people will instantly know that Georgetown and Notre Dame are Catholic devoted.
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Yup, I understand the difference there. My point was that these colleges may be less “Catholic devoted” than their Web sites convey. As colleges become “academic” enough to draw people like you (by which I mean people for whom faith is a neutral factor or even a negative), they tend to become less “religious.” Both ND and Georgetown require some courses in religion, and of course both will have large Catholic populations and more religious activities on campus. But they may be more diverse than you think. For a lot of people (including me), “Catholic” isn’t the first word that springs to mind when either of those colleges is mentioned. If you can visit, that might give you a better feeling for the day-to-day experience, either contradicting or reinforcing your preconceptions about the atmosphere and the student body.</p>
<p>One thing people don’t consider when they lie to gain admission to a college (which I realize you’ve said you wouldn’t do) is that they’re working against themselves. Colleges look for students who will be happy, successful, and fulfilled at their institution. If you lie on your application, you might find yourself admitted, attending, and utterly miserable.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=Black’s Law]
Who knows, I might decide to major in theology or something.
[/quote]
Do you like sweets? Maybe you could major in Divinity. And if you lied about your religion to get in, you could minor in Fudge! :p</p>
<p>Mansfield, Jesuits are catholic, but they belong to the society of jesus which is part of catholicism</p>
<p>Yes, I lie about my religion all the time. I was baptized into the Mormon church when I was eight because all my friends were doing it. I’ve been inactive for nearly 7 years though I did go to lds seminary my freshman year. Now I just say I don’t belong to any religion at all. Good thing I have no intention of going to BYU or any other school affiliated with religion.</p>
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<p>Thank science I go to a Jeffersonian school.</p>
<p>I recommend that you don’t lie. There could be truly devoted members of those churches who would like to attend the school. It seems wrong to me for someone not devoted to take their spot. One of my closest friends is a Mormon and talked about going to BYU for years. She is a very devout. She wasn’t accepted, however. It would be truly sad to think that someone was accepted to BYU who was lying about their religion, especially since the Mormon Church pays something like 80% of the cost of attending BYU. I do not believe that the Catholic Church pays the same amount for students to attend Notre Dame and Georgetown, but the Church certainly paid a lot of money in the past to build up those schools, and my guess is that they Church made that decision to help make young Catholics stronger. Finally, I believe all religious schools accept people who do not share their religion. Why not be honest and apply as a person of a different (or no) religion? </p>
<p>Our generation is not very honest. It would be nice if we could at least be honest about religion. Geesh.</p>
<p>This reminds me of people who celebrate Christmas but bash Christianity…</p>