<p>Let's say College X has a religious affiliation. How would this affect an atheist/agnostic's experience there?</p>
<p>Depends on the school. I am an atheist, but think I would be fine at BC even though it is a Jesuit school because the population are not veryserious about religion and what you are. However if you go to an extremely religious school like the Citidel or Bob Jones you will probbably not have that great of an experience.</p>
<p>Yeah. If it's a Jesuit school, you'll have absolutely no problem.
Don't know off the top of my head if Brandeis is a Jewish school, but you'll have no problem there either.</p>
<p>^Brandeis has a very large Jewish population, but it doesn't have any relationship to Judaism.</p>
<p>^ However, Brandeis's campus culture is Jewish-centric, more ethnically than religiously. Research and find out if that's an issue for you.</p>
<p>I kinda think it will affect the atheist/agnostic person alot...depends actually. If the atheist wants to hook up, get drunk, then he/she will have trouble at a Christian College. He also might get headaches from all the "God" talks. And if he/she is extremely antiChristian...well why the heck would you even want to go to a christian college in the first place?</p>
<p>But the thing is, colleges don't shove religious conversations and pressure into an atheist and treats everyone like a regular person. You will be respected, religous or not.</p>
<p>I think it's akin to a Republican attending say, Wesleyan or Oberlin. You WILL be a distinct minority, so be prepared to defend your views or keep them to yourself.</p>
<p>Depending on what kind of person you are, that's either exciting or horrifying.</p>
<p>Also, not all religious affiliations are made equal. For example, Macalester is technically Presbyterian, but the student body is extremely liberal and the affiliation has little to no effect on college culture/life.</p>
<p>^to add on to the kind of person you are, if you are one of the persistant in your face atheist, always bringing it up when religion is mentioned then you may have a more adverse experience in some of the schools than non affilated ones,</p>
<p>There are many different answers to this question, depending on the particular school.
1. There are some religious-based schools that will not even admit you if you don't ascribe to their beliefs.
2. There are some religious-based schools with a lot of religious requirements, such as required classes, chapel attendance, and moral requirements, that would probably be problematic for an atheist.
3. There are some schools where there aren't many such requirements, but where such a large proportion of the students are religious that you may feel out of place. Some of these schools may not be religiously affiliated at all.
4. There are nominally religiously-affiliated schools that have completely diverse student populations where you will be completely comfortable.</p>
<p>^ Seconded. And here are examples of each category:</p>
<ol>
<li>Bob Jones University (I think?)</li>
<li>Brigham Young University</li>
<li>Brandeis University</li>
<li>Macalester College, Occidental College (also Boston College, Georgetown University, University of Southern California, perhaps--I don't know as much about them)</li>
</ol>
<p>From what I've read here, I don't think it's really true of Brandeis. I was thinking about some Southern schools, like maybe Hamden-Sydney.</p>
<p>"^to add on to the kind of person you are, if you are one of the persistant in your face atheist, always bringing it up when religion is mentioned then you may have a more adverse experience in some of the schools than non affilated ones"</p>
<p>They'll have a bad experience ANY WHERE.</p>
<p>^^ I speak only from my impressions as an atheist. I wouldn't feel comfortable at Brandeis, a school where seafood is banned from the dining halls because of kosher.</p>
<p>^ ferryboat, are you implying that only "closet" atheists who don't feel comfortable arguing their beliefs will have a positive college experience? If religion was brought up in conversation (I don't mean "God bless you" or the like, but a proselytizing statement or an invitation to church), I would certainly feel it necessary to make my personal philosophy clear.</p>
<p>I think ferryboat is talking about obnoxious, pushy atheists, who can be just as annying as obnoxious, pushy religious proselytizers.</p>
<p>^ exactly.</p>
<p>Even at colleges with strong religious affiliation, prostelyzing isn't that prevalent. The religion simply forms the core of campus life. No parties are scheduled during service and ethics and the opinions of theologians are intertwined in the classroom and chow hall.
Normally the students of other religions who attend these colleges make it known they're not interested by redirecting the conversations, opting out of the discussion, wearing respectable marks of pride/resistance (yarmulke, headscarf, rosary) or seeking out their own clique.</p>
<p>^^I agree with Keilexandra that I would not feel comfortable at Brandies</p>
<p>And to be clear about the in your face atheist statement I was talking about the more obnoxious type. I said it only because from my experience few people actully tried to attack my beliefs once I tell them tend to gravitate towrd the affiliated schools. And the discussions could escalte quickly if I were obnoxious and not calm and collected while telling them why I belieive in atheisim. So if an obnoxious athiest goes to an affiliated school there is a higher chance you will run into the obnoxious, pushy religious proselytizers that leads to a pointless yelling match. While at unaffiliated schools you will probably tend to run into the people that don't care and roll thier eyes at you.</p>
<p>Keilexandra is mistaken about Brandeis. While there certainly are some very religiously observant students, the vast majority of students at Brandeis are not particularly religious--regardless of what that religion is (and there are people of all faiths attending). Yes, somewhat more than half the undergraduate student body are Jewish--but many of those identify themselves as ethnically Jewish as opposed to strictlyh observing Jewish law and customs. There are also a substantial number of atheists, agnostics, etc.---and I don't believe many of them feel uncomfortable. </p>
<p>Brandeis does accommodate its religiously Jewish students by working around the Jewish Holidays and offering both Kosher and non-kosher meals in one dining hall (so everyone can sit together)---but I can't see why this is any more offensive to an atheist than the typical academic calendar which works around Christian holidays such as Christmas. New York City schools are off for the Jewish Holidays too, and most if not all of the top universities offer Kosher food.</p>
<p>The truth is that the percentage of Jews at Brandeis is not all that much greater than at Penn, Tufts, GW, BU, NYU and a number of other schools. Like the schools I just mentioned, it is a non-sectarian university. Frankly I don't view it any differently than Harvard and Yale (founded by and for Congregationalists, f/k/a Puritans), Princeton (founded by and for Presbyterians), Brown (founded by and for Baptists), Duke (founded by and for Methodists) and a host of other fine, non-sectarian schools which have a large majority of Christians as students.</p>
<p>I have heard the arguments for Brandeis as a nonsectarian university, and I'm not convinced. Certainly, I agree that many/most Jews there are ethnically rather than religious Jewish--but this does have an effect on campus culture that you will not find on other campuses such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. (Duke is still Methodist, I believe, so not strictly nonsectarian although it would probably fall into category #4 above.) Regarding kosher for example, as of 2006 pork was available only in one dining hall and shellfish in none. If Brandeis is nonsectarian, why is it so offensive to serve pork and shellfish in addition to kosher meals? The university constantly balances its dual Jewish/nonsectarian image--which is a good thing, but to deny the influence of Brandeis's Jewish heritage is inaccurate. The pervasiveness is much greater than other cited previously-Christian universities.</p>
<p>It's not a matter of being "offensive" to atheists, but a matter of comfort level. I'm sure that some atheists/agnostics are comfortable at Brandeis, just as they are at, say, Hampden-Sydney. But others will not be comfortable with a school where religion plays an undeniable role in the school culture. Ethnic Judaism, like Christmas and Easter, is still considered a religious influence by this atheist.</p>
<p>I found this article enlightening. A</a> question of culture - The Boston Globe</p>
<p>For the record: </p>
<p>The Citadel is the former Military College of South Carolina. It has no religious affiliation. Its faculty are largely US Army Officers and some Air Force Officers. There is a chapel on campus for those who wish to worship freely. </p>
<p>Ditto VMI.</p>
<p>University of Southern California is a private school but it also has NO religious affiliation whatsoever. </p>
<p>There are 28 Jesuit Catholic Colleges in the United States. They are religious insofar as theology (a lot of choices within that discipline) is required as part of the core curriculum, but tolerance, openness and frank discussions are part of the Jesuit ethos. Being Agnostic or Atheist will not affect your application (though going to a Catholic High School may give you an extra edge). </p>
<p>The same can be said of Benedictine, Franciscan, Redemptorist, Augustinian and Dominican Universities in the United States.</p>
<p>Prosletyzing is considered to be in bad form and frowned upon, as "free choice" is a significant part of what it means to become a Roman Catholic. If you CHOOSE to inquire, there will be plenty of people who will be willing to inform you about Church practices and doctrine, formally or informally. Otherwise, its live and let live.</p>
<p>I believe the same can be said of the hundreds of Lutheran, Presbyterian and Methodist colleges in the United States. Wake Forest, University of Richmond and Furman Universities left the Southern Baptist Convention over issues primarily related to freedom of academic thought and are no longer religious schools, though a lot of religious people attend those schools.</p>
<p>Sewannee, Univ. of the South, a highly acclaimed Liberal Arts College in Chattanooga Tennessee, is an Episcopal School. But it is also very open minded and makes no discrimination on the basis of belief or non belief.</p>
<p>Many of the Ivy League schools had religious foundations.</p>
<p>Some schools retain a distinctly religious curriculum and "charisma": such as Wheaton College and Grove City College. Bob Jones University is very hard core Fundamentalist Baptist. I think that dances and rock music are still prohibited on campus, but I may be incorrect on that. </p>
<p>BYU (Utah, Hawaii and Idaho) is 99% Mormon.</p>
<p>^ Thanks for the correction on USC. Somehow I had a mistaken impression from CB.</p>
<p>OP: Your question can't really be answered in the general; it will vary depending on the school and on YOU. Do extensive research and go with your gut feeling.</p>