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I believe this. As for the segment immediately preceding it, I think many people would argue with you on that. I’m not really seeing how you distinguish religion from theology either; many, if not most, religious people have attended at least Sunday school before. And another offshoot of religion, religious studies, is very academic. Often a strong religious background can be beneficial in that field. </p>
<p>That said, I personally would never use a reason for something not being perceived as “intellectual” as a reason to stop an activity I enjoy. Many probably perceive acting to not be intellectual, but I still do it and have no plans of stopping. If in a potential employer questions my devotion to acting rather than pursuing more intellectual activities, I will justify my decision. If he doesn’t buy my reasons, I don’t want to work for him. </p>
<p>I think the same could be said here. Any school that has an admissions counselor who is willing to reject someone because of religious affiliation is not a school that I (if I were religious) would want to attend. I know many strongly religious persons at Stanford. I know people who spent a couple years doing missionary work, and this was likely in their app. At least here, I do not think religion is something that will work against you in away way in terms of admissions. </p>
<p>And politics? No way. At all. If anything that is something sorely lacking at Stanford right now. Stanford has expressed a desire for East Coast humanists. Implicit in this, in my mind, is a desire for students who are involved in, are educated about, or who care for politics. And not the West Coast “no on prop 8 and save the environment” kind of politics. Yeah that stuff is important, but Stanford has its fair share of those types already.</p>