As a non-religious person, should I exclude religiously affiliated colleges and universities from my college search?
Just a quick disclaimer: I do not mean to offend anyone in this post!! I respect your freedom of religion!!
So, I do not follow any organized religion. I do not believe in a God or creationism, and I am not spiritual. I guess I can be categorized as a "nihilist." With that being said, I personally find myself uncomfortable when people talk about religion, or try to convince me to follow their religion. For religiously affiliated colleges, is this something that I should worry about. I know of some amazing colleges with amazing programs that I am interested in, but I am wary of the fact that the college is religiously affiliated. Any thoughts? #college #college-advice #college-bound #college-selection #religion
20 answers
Jennifer’s Answer
As you begin your college search, I would encourage you to consider all colleges and universities that have most or some of your criteria. [If you don't have list of criteria and priorities for what you're looking for in a college or university, I'd start there first.]
Unless you're adamantly opposed, and it's a high priority on your criteria list, then I would suggest looking at all institutions. As you narrow down your college list, you can cull those institutions that don't meet your criteria and don't "feel right." Just as you would with new people, don't let generalizations and/or perceptions cloud your judgement. Get to know the institution before you write it off.
With that said, you'll know when the school is not a good fit. But some institutions have close affiliations that you don't feel on campus and others have little to no affiliations despite having a religion in their name!
Wishing you all the best in your college search!
John’s Answer
My oldest daughter follows christian beliefs but attended a catholic college and enjoyed it tremendously. She liked the culture but never felt pressured to attend mass and developed multiple friends and felt it has given her a great foundation for her career (Teaching)
My youngest daughter is attending a large state university, she is non religious, but likes the academic program the school offers and is excelling. (And her room mate is very religious yet they are very close friends, even with the difference in beliefs)
So don't exclude them in your search. You will also find private schools to be more active with available scholarships and grants to offset costs.
Tomas’s Answer
Dexter’s Answer
I personally would not attend a religiously affiliated college. I'm not religious either and I liked having a mix of religious and non-religious friends in college. I doubt that the balance of believers/non-believers would be the same at a religious school, and I personally would abhor the insistence in belief from emboldened followers.
For example, looking at Notre Dame (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Notre_Dame#Religious_life) I would imagine that you'd constantly find yourself uncomfortable with so much celebration of religion.
I would really love to see an answer from someone that has attended a religious college as a non-believer, though.
Best of luck!
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Dexter
Gina’s Answer
Michael’s Answer
Joyce’s Answer
Jorge’s Answer
First of all thank you for your question and transparency with regards to such a delicate topic. In my opinion you would be doing yourself a dis-service by excluding colleges that are affiliated to religious entities. The most important things to consider is does the college offer the degree associated with what you are considering for a career and is the city and campus life one that I see myself being happy and thriving in?
Recently we have been looking at colleges for one of our children and several have been affiliated to certain religions. In most cases they did not even require the student take courses on religion or attend mass or alike events though there were a couple that did. That may be something to consider in your decision making process.
Best of luck to you and hope this is helpful.
Regards
Jorge
Sebastian’s Answer
Edward’s Answer
JOSEPH’s Answer
Richard’s Answer
Callie’s Answer
Great question, religious affiliation is is definitely something I also thought about when applying to colleges across the country. A school that is directly tied to a particular church or religion may present a problem for you if you are uncomfortable with conversations revolving around faith, religion, etc. Especially because you undoubtedly will be required to take at least one course on religion. Additionally, inherently the school will have a large draw of people who do have similar religious affiliations and backgrounds. Look towards a traditional liberal arts or state university if you want a more diverse setting.
That said, I would not close yourself off to people who think differently than you or who are religious. I would even encourage you to take a few religion courses wherever you decide to go to school because it will give you a different respective and provide insight. College is a time to learn and explore!
All the best!
Callie
Richard’s Answer
Explore different websites, set up phone calls with current students, and try to visit the campus if you can. See if you feel you would be a good fit even without sharing the same faith as them.
Albert’s Answer
I attended Baylor University and others have mentioned there was absolutely no pressure to proselytize. You do have to attend chapel so if that's a turnoff, fair point. However, several of my friends who attended were not religious and as far as I can tell it did not distract from their overall experience while attending school there.
Short, but I hope this helps.
Jose’s Answer
From my experience the only way you're generally going to be affected at a religious school is by what you see and hear on the campus because there are going to be things and people symbolic of religion. Unless I looked to go to the chapel or speak to a priest they basically would have been nonexistent other than I knew they were there because I saw them on the campus and may have heard about a religious function being observed. Lastly, the only other scenario I can think of and this can happen at any school, is that it's possible you may befriend somebody who is religious who may deal with things in a religious perspective. Mostly, I suspect you would be going to find people going about their business just as you'd be doing.