I know that I don’t believe in God. I’m not pushy about it, and try to keep religion out of conversations, but I don’t. I don’t know whether I would be classified more as an Agnostic or as an Atheist. I’m filling out the Common App right now, not to be submitted today, but by the 15th. On the demographics section, it has both Agnostic and Atheist (which was actually pretty surprising). Would putting one or the other improve/hurt my chances? I’m going to be applying to:
UNC Chapel Hill
NCSU
UNCW
Appalachain State University
UNCC
It does not improve or hurt your chances at all. They are just getting some data from you. You are atheist if you know you don’t believe and agnostic if you are not sure. Agnostic means “not knowing”.
If I had to say definitively if I believed there was a god, I’d say no. But I also believe it’s silly to say that there’s a 0% chance of god not existing, or existing. There are certain tendencies that tend to classify people as Atheist or Agnostic, that go deeper than surface level (Like with classifying people as Conservative or Liberal). I tend to have some Atheist and some Agnostic qualities.
It SHOULDN’T make a difference, but… Who’s to say whether a particular admissions officer has a prejudice against atheists or Jews or Muslims or another group? You never know. As an atheist, I remember seeing studies that show that more people say that they would never vote for an atheist than for someone from any other religious group or a range of other minority categories.
So, consider whether you want to proudly own the label or just leave the section blank.
@TheGreyKing Yeah, there are articles on the internet about it. Atheists are trusted less than rapists on average. Because, you know, Atheists are so evil and rapists are just misunderstood.
Anyway, thanks for the replies everyone. I think I’m just going to put Atheist down. Hopefully, I won’t get any prejudiced admission officers reading my transcript.
For most people, an agnostic is someone who is deeply uncertain about the whole thing (I call myself agnostic and this is what I mean), while an atheist is someone who believes it’s reasonably certain there is no god. There has been a recent effort to reclaim the word “atheist” so that it means nothing more than “not a theist,” but it hasn’t caught on much. This means the word “atheist” is more polarizing. However, I think you should check the box that best reflects your views. If you would only call yourself agnostic because no one can really know anything, “atheist” is a good descriptor.
I’d leave it off. If you were applying to very liberal schools, I’d say no problem. But given your list there is a chance of running into an admissions counselor who has at least a silent bias. There is no gain in marking it, and a slight downside.
I’m taking everything you’ve all said into consideration. I’ll probably update the thread when I make a final decision. I want my applications in in 2 days anyway. Thanks again to everyone who weighed in.
I think “other” is also a choice. You could worship fruit or be a combination of the above etc., if you use other…doesn’t say if you believe or don’t believe. But since you may be a combination it may be a good choice if you want to fill it in? I get leaving it blank seems awkward, like you forgot to do it.
@CADREAMIN I think other might be offputting, since I think most people are usually confident putting down one or the other. Plus, there’s two options for nonbelievers. I’d imagine they’d expect nonbelievers to choose Atheist/Agnostic.
Ya I agree, “other” could be interpreted as “not interested in telling you” which for some, may be what they want to say. I think a student could be comfortable putting down atheist because your generation is more comfortable with being that and using that term. But like the comments here, the parent may not be comfortable with them putting it down because they see room for potential negative judgement. Let us know which way you go. It’s an odd question to answer.
I’d leave it blank because 1) your religious beliefs (or lack thereof) are no one’s business except your own, and 2) there is no good reason nor any valid purpose for gathering this sort of data.