<p>To add to this…I’ve never been homeless or anything, but I’ve had some suckish things happen to me that I could have written my essay about. I still chose to write about dying my hair, because at seventeen years old I don’t have the maturity or the perspective to say anything remotely intelligent (especially in 650 words) about the more serious issues that have been part of my life. Some people do (this may be the case with the OP and atheism…I don’t know), and more power to them, but I don’t think a serious topic is always the best choice for every person.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And I would argue that most people don’t do this very well…just like with atheism essays. Social privilege is just as big and just as controversial a topic as religion, and a lot of times essays about it are filled with cliches and generalizations and ultimately just say whatever the writer thinks the reader wants to hear.</p>
<p>Oh really? That’s like saying anti-Semitism is dead. Read on…</p>
<p>“A study by Brookings Institute, mainly on public perspectives regarding immigration policy, offers corroborations for secularization trend in the US weve seen already-but also offers some fresh views on the public image of atheists. The study gives the atheists the dubious distinction of being the most unpopular minority, at a whopping -29 percent. Non-religious people overall were second, at -15 percent. Even Muslims, much smaller in number than the above groups, did quite a bit better, at -9 percent. If there is a silver lining here, it is that hatred against atheists is lowest among the youth. 55% of seniors believe atheists are changing the American culture for worse, whereas only 24% of millennials share that opinion. Millennials are also most likely to self-identify as atheists or agnostics (13%), compared to 3% for senior. (We know from another study that the number for the society as a whole is about 9%). There is positive change on the horizon, but its rate is glacial. The rapid rise of the religiously unaffiliated, combined with the negative perception of them that dominates the society otherwise, is concerning for future social tensions. But going back into the closet is not an option.”</p>
<p>I thought you were talking about someone coming out to their parents as an atheist. Depending on what kind of parents they were, this could be a stressful thing to go through, though maybe “bad” isn’t the right word.
But you don’t have to write your essay about bad things anyway. It’s just that when I saw the comment about the homeless girl I thought you were trying to say that admissions people would think someone was making a big deal out of nothing if they wrote about any problem less awful than being homeless.</p>
<p>Oh really? Were you there? I was raised in a community that was about 60% Jewish. My grandmother, an orthodox Jew, was mortified. My parents, though not as religious, were shocked and embarrassed, especially when other members of the synagogue asked them “why doesn’t little DGDzDad come to services any more.” Much crying, arguments, threats, cajoling, etc. went on for years. It pretty much only stopped when Bubby died when I was in my late 20’s, at which point my father announced that HE was an atheist too. It would have made a great college essay. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of it.</p>
<p>That same Brookings Institute (post 43) report also states that a clear majority of Americans perceive atheists as having “no impact” on American culture or “changing [it] for the better.” Admittedly, a sizable minority do see atheists as “changing [American culture] for the worse.” But I’d wager if you polled Freedom from Religion Foundation members about religious Jews, Christians or Muslims, you wouldn’t find numbers that were any more favorable.</p>
<p>Is there bias in America against atheists? Sure, in some segments of society there is. Is that wrong? Yes, it is. But I am not yet convinced that the treatment of atheists in America rises to the level of the slave trade, the Trail of Tears or the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.</p>
<p>I think an essay about how you broke your grandma’s heart will probably not score very high on the likability scale. While it may have been a brave thing to do, and right for you, we’re talking about an essay which is designed to persuade the reader to support your admission to the college. I say that the best thing to do is to find a topic that enables you to show yourself as a likable person.</p>
<p>"I thought you were talking about someone coming out to their parents as an atheist. Depending on what kind of parents they were, this could be a stressful thing to go through, though maybe “bad” isn’t the right word.
But you don’t have to write your essay about bad things anyway. It’s just that when I saw the comment about the homeless girl I thought you were trying to say that admissions people would think someone was making a big deal out of nothing if they wrote about any problem less awful than being homeless. "</p>
<p>You plan on going to a state school and essays are not important to you. However, CC works across the spectrum and there are many schools out there which take these essays seriously and these are used as windows to deciding on the addition of a student to their school. I am not sure where OP is applying and based on the type of school, it may or may not matter just like your own application.</p>
<p>So I get it that you don’t get it when you suggest essay topics are not that important. However, that only applies to you.</p>
<p>It is not all that important to colleges that you are stressed out. To put it bluntly, they don’t give a darn about a kid being stressed out about telling his parents that he is gay/atheist/has the clap/flunked his final/dropping out of school. </p>
<p>They are looking for someone who brings something to the school that adds value and essays are your way of SHOWING them what that might be.</p>
<p>The essay is not about bad things happening to you but how you may have made a contribution to your environment (school, neighborhood, town, state) in your own way. The homeless girl is not writing her essays about being homeless but overcoming her odds and still contributing to the society. You would be surprised about what all she was doing DESPITE being homeless. </p>
<p>I was suggesting that OP has done something about being an Atheist if he started a club in the middle of bible belt and that is worth writing about. Even starting a club without any opposition is worth writing about. There is some level of passion involved that shows.</p>
<p>RIGHT. There are kids who write about how their religious position inspired them to do some good or tackle some challenge beyond themselves, have some impact around them. Far more important than the kid who just “tells” how hard it was to shift from how he was raised, who argued against him, how certain he is, or how he’s now a pariah. Or some sort of hero.
Don’t leave adcoms with a “so what?” reaction. Your hs English teachers fret over your ability to take a stand, entertain, and/or write well on whatever comes to mind. They may like your essay on lemons.
Adcoms want to see the lemonade. Why is that so hard to get?</p>
<p>True. My assumption was that if he had done something about it outside of home, it would be meaningful. </p>
<p>What did you do about it: I told my mom
What did she do about it: She cried and said I am going to He… but I don’t believe in it anyway.
So what happens now: I feel relieved that I got it off my chest. I will live the rest of my life as a happy atheist.</p>
<p>Good for you. I like that essay. You get 95/100. we only admit those who score 110/100.</p>
<p>I’m not saying it rises to that level… probably more akin to the discrimination against LGBT’s. But I think you are under-estimating it. Every time a brave freethinker stands up for the First Amendment and challenges a nativity scene or other religious symbol on public property, or sectarian prayers at the start of city council meetings, or portraits of Jesus hanging in the hallways of public schools, or public school kindergarten teachers leading students in pre-snack prayers, or cheerleaders at public high schools in Texas holding up banners with bible verses at football games, or the posting of the Ten Commandments at courthouses or public schools, etc. etc., they end up being subjected to public vitriol, death threats, and become pariahs in their community.</p>
<p>Are you familiar with the case of Jessica Ahlquist? Jessica was a high school senior in Cranston, RI a few years ago. With the help of the ACLU, she filed a lawsuit challenging a prayer banner at her public high school. “During the lawsuit, Ahlquist received hate mail and was verbally attacked by her peers, media outlets, and online. She received death threats, and required police escorts to and from classes. An unnamed student was disciplined by the school because of threats. The Freedom from Religion Foundation ordered flowers to be delivered to Ahlquist during the trial, but two local florists refused delivery… [In fact, the FFRF had to go out of state to find a florist in Connecticut who was willing to deliver flowers.] On the day following the ruling, Rhode Island State Representative Peter G. Palumbo spoke on a local radio show and referred to Ahlquist as “an evil little thing”. Several months after the case was closed, in April 2012, Ahlquist received threatening letters in the mail from individuals describing themselves as “crusaders”. Police are still investigating.” ([Jessica</a> Ahlquist - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Ahlquist]Jessica”>Jessica Ahlquist - Wikipedia))</p>
<p>These kinds of attacks on freethinkers happen more often than you think. They are happening now all over America. I invite you to check out the archives of Freethought Today (the monthly publication of the FFRF). Not a month goes by without stories about public outbursts of hatred against innocent people who are merely trying to defend our Constitutional rights. I myself was the victim of several crank calls after writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper opposing an op ed piece that proposed changing our National Anthem to “God Bless America.”</p>
<p>We’re getting a little far afield from the point of the thread, but to bring it back home: if OP has been subjected to this kind of discrimination for “coming out” as an atheist in a predominantly religious community, then I think it could very well make a good college essay subject… an essay not about theology, but about tolerance, standing up for one’s rights in the face of overwhelming opposition, etc.</p>
<p>If you fought for your rights against your school and local government, that’s potentially a good essay topic. If you fought against your parents for the right to sleep in on Sunday morning and not go to church, not so much.</p>
<p>I thought she challenged a piece of art that had hung there for years and was felt by some to be historical? (You know, in RI, there’s fuss over the phrase, “Christmas tree.”)</p>
<p>I am quite familiar with Jessica Ahlquist’s story.</p>
<p>But you’re talking as if atheists are the only group working to safeguard church-state separation, and the only group with skin in that game. And that’s just not so. The executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, for example, is an ordained minister.</p>
<p>I admire people who take a stand against state sponsored religion, no matter the religion, and no matter whether the person in question is religious or not. </p>
<p>In my mind, the issue of atheism and yhe issue of church-state separation are separate and shouldn’t be jumbled together. It’s true that both are of concern to many of the same people, but that doesn’t mean the two are related. Given the patterns of television advertising, professional football, Cialis and domestic beer are also of interest to many of the same people, but I don’t think that means there’s an essential connection between the NFL and impotence or drunkenness.</p>
<p>Well, some in the community tried to defend the piece as “art” or “historical,” but it was merely a prayer on a poster or banner that had been plastered onto the wall in the school auditorium for 40+ years. The federal judge saw through that argument. The same argument has been tried many times for religious icons on public property. When that doesn’t work, they usually resort to leasing the property to a private group to try to get around it. That doesn’t work in a public school building, however.</p>
It’s true that there are many people who are religious but also take state-church separation seriously. That’s admirable. However, freethinkers have taken the lead role for the most part and the backlash is much more severe when the advocate identifies as atheist, as in Jessica’s case. If she had been a member of a local church who was just trying to make a Constitutional point, I sincerely doubt you would have seen the kind of reaction she got.</p>
<p>Opposite question: I’ve an essay written on how I found myself growing closer/understanding my religion and my parents’ values and ultimately learning that it’s not wrong to not get things 100%, to do things differently and find your own way in vignette style. Is it too cliche? I mean, I regard this struggle very important for me because my family went through a lot for me/each-other and I wanted to know and understand them. </p>
<p>To be frank, I am not 100% attuned and spiritual yet. I lack self control and objectivity (at times). But it’s a super important part of my life, I think and would definitely be ‘part of my story’. Is this okay? This spurred my interest in studying philosophy and history and my involvement in educational/global issue stuff. My main schtick or area of accomplishment is science though.</p>
<p>(I hope I’m not derailing! My religion is a non-Abrahamic faith btw).</p>