One of the Pepperdine questions is this:
As a Christian university, Pepperdine expresses its Christian principles through all aspects of academic life and administrative policy. The university affirms that truth, having nothing to fear from investigation, should be pursued relentlessly in every discipline. Students, faculty, and staff members of all faith traditions are welcome to become part of the Pepperdine University community. Please tell us a little bit about how faith has influenced your life.
What if I’m not religious at all? How do you think I should answer this question?
Faith does not have to have a religious component to it. You can instead explain how you had faith in something else, i.e. a contest submission or making it through something intense.
Hi beefnoodlesoup,
A Pepperdine representative came to my school a few weeks ago, and I happened to ask her about the supplemental question.
She told me to not dodge the question about faith, you have to sound comfortable talking about it (whatever your faith is). Answer the question and don’t avoid it! If you’re not religious, say it, if you’re still searching, say it too. She told me to be as honest as possible.
She also told me that if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of Christianity or with faith, Pepperdine may not be the best fit for you because as it says in the question, Pepperdine expresses is Christian principles through ALL aspects of academic life and administrative policy.
You don’t have to be a Christian or religious, but you should be aware and prepared to find how intertwined faith is into the subjects.
Hope this helped!