Atheism considered an URM/Diversity Statement Worthy? Forum

[jkpolk]

all human culture and values descend from religion..its only a matter of what religion it descends from...since you are atheist, by definition you cant have values or culture

Amen brother Wang, honored to share a thread with your cogency and articulation

[cjcregg]

Even as a fellow atheist, I think this is silly.

First and most importantly, you already know atheists are victims of prejudice. For that reason alone you shouldn't risk antagonizing admissions officers that may be prejudiced against atheists (especially in Texas). This is often a more polarizing issue about politics. I would also caution against spouting a partisan political ideology in a personal statement.

Second, you have to at least demonstrate occasions where you were seriously disadvantaged because of your beliefs. Being forced to participate in a school prayer for example is not abuse anyone will shed a tear for.

Third, if you were actually physically bullied for being an atheist, the reasonable thing to do would be to shut up about being an atheist. Unlike LGBT and race diversity, atheists can keep their beliefs to themselves and almost always avoid abuse. Law schools and law firms are not looking for antagonists and rabble-rousers (who are rational and logical from my perspective) who don't know when to shut up.

[Mr. Pancakes]

OP is retarded.

And why do you think that?

because you thought being an atheist could possibly be considered an URM.

why could LGBT be considered and Atheist could not? If minority status is not a purely skin-color related attribute, cultural identity is not a far off identifier.

You obviously thought LGBT could be considered an URM.

[TurtlesAllTheWayDown]

OP is retarded.

And why do you think that?

because you thought being an atheist could possibly be considered an URM.

why could LGBT be considered and Atheist could not? If minority status is not a purely skin-color related attribute, cultural identity is not a far off identifier.

For the rest of your "atheist don't have moral compasses" bit, I'm just going to assume you're a troll and wait for you to be banned.

Because you aren't disadvantaged in any way because of your atheism, short of having to endure some awful faux-intellectual conversations. Minority doesn't equal disadvantaged. I'm not sure what part of Texas you are from, but I don't think I've ever seen any persecution of atheists.

It's been my experience that any "persecution" an atheist experiences is due to how intolerable they are about being an atheist (not implying that you are this way). Same thing for Christians or anyone else who feels strongly about anything, really. It's not persecution if people dislike you for being an asshole.

Write about your economic hardships. That's more compelling, anyway.

[dpk711]

where this thread is going

[StrictlyBusiness]

Lgbt isn't considered as an URM

Yet many here have stated it's worthy of a Diversity Statement. Which was part of my question.

This would likely piss off more people than it would win over. Not everyone is diverse, just play the white boy card and see what happens.

[JohnV]

all human culture and values descend from religion..its only a matter of what religion it descends from...since you are atheist, by definition you cant have values or culture

Lol what? Humanity had culture before religion was even a thing. The ancient Greeks had one of the most sophisticated cultures this world has ever seen and plenty of its highest intellects were atheist. Values descended from religion? You must not read much philosophy because only an idiot with no sense of history would make that statement.

are you seriously using the greeks as an example of atheism???

Yes? Plato, Diagoras, Socrates, etc etc.

[thederangedwang]

we were talking about culture and society...not individuals...do you deny the greeks as a civilization/culture were atheist?

[jkpolk]

Yes? Plato, Diagoras, Socrates, etc etc.

How is a belief in truth and form different from a belief in god?

[bjsesq]

Being an atheist is hard. I can understand why you would want to tell schools of the burden, or cross, you bear.

[JohnV]

Because you aren't disadvantaged in any way because of your atheism, short of having to endure some awful faux-intellectual conversations. Minority doesn't equal disadvantaged. I'm not sure what part of Texas you are from, but I don't think I've ever seen any persecution of atheists.

Are you kidding me? You know how volatile this topic is in Texas? I mean look at this forum, I asked a simple question and the first couple of post assumed I was a hedonistic demon spawn. There are PLENTY of cases of people being fired which lead back to their atheism coming to the forefront.

It's been my experience that any "persecution" an atheist experiences is due to how intolerable they are about being an atheist (not implying that you are this way). Same thing for Christians or anyone else who feels strongly about anything, really. It's not persecution if people dislike you for being an asshole.

That's true on some cases, probably less so where I'm from. I don't know where you are writing from but I get a lot of the "You don't have morals" kind of talk any time I let people know that I'm not part of their club and it's a pretty compelling reason for employers (or any social function) not to allow you access.

Write about your economic hardships. That's more compelling, anyway.

I most likely will, if admissions boards are even a fraction of as bigoted as this forum has been it's probably a good idea to hide (and lie, I guess?) about my own personal beliefs. Lol, how's that for morality?

[JohnV]

Being an atheist is hard. I can understand why you would want to tell schools of the burden, or cross, you bear.

Is it any less hard than being Mexican, black, or gay? I don't really see Jim Crow laws around anymore, rather the opposite, so I see the 'struggle' as more or less equivalent.

[JohnV]

Yes? Plato, Diagoras, Socrates, etc etc.

How is a belief in truth and form different from a belief in god?

For one, they killed Socrates for it, so they must have thought it was pretty different.

[Mr. Pancakes]

Are you kidding me? You know how volatile this topic is in Texas? I mean look at this forum, I asked a simple question and the first couple of post assumed I was a hedonistic demon spawn. There are PLENTY of cases of people being fired which lead back to their atheism coming to the forefront.

assumption.

[Mr. Pancakes]

Being an atheist is hard. I can understand why you would want to tell schools of the burden, or cross, you bear.

Is it any less hard than being Mexican, black, or gay? I don't really see Jim Crow laws around anymore, rather the opposite, so I see the 'struggle' as more or less equivalent.

--ImageRemoved--

[JohnV]

we were talking about culture and society...not individuals...do you deny the greeks as a civilization/culture were atheist?

And the Greek gods were moral? Where did Greeks get morality or values? If it was from the Greek gods then it wasn't anything we'd recognize as morality, certainly nothing like the Christian god's version. And what about societies today that are largely atheist/agnostic? Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, are these places devoid of culture?

[jkpolk]

Yes? Plato, Diagoras, Socrates, etc etc.

How is a belief in truth and form different from a belief in god?

For one, they killed Socrates for it, so they must have thought it was pretty different.

[JohnV]

assumption.

Absolutely no assumptions were made in the creation of your quoted post. You're an idiot.

[thederangedwang]

Yes? Plato, Diagoras, Socrates, etc etc.

How is a belief in truth and form different from a belief in god?

For one, they killed Socrates for it, so they must have thought it was pretty different.

so you acknowledge that the greeks as a society were religious?

[bjsesq]

Being an atheist is hard. I can understand why you would want to tell schools of the burden, or cross, you bear.

Is it any less hard than being Mexican, black, or gay? I don't really see Jim Crow laws around anymore, rather the opposite, so I see the 'struggle' as more or less equivalent.

It's clearly equally as hard, if not moreso, in today's United States. The higher rates of imprisoned atheists reflects this. Same with atheists below the poverty line.

[Mr. Pancakes]

assumption.

Absolutely no assumptions were made in the creation of your quoted post. You're an idiot.

Are you kidding me? You know how volatile this topic is in Texas? I mean look at this forum, I asked a simple question and the first couple of post assumed I was a hedonistic demon spawn. There are PLENTY of cases of people being fired which lead back to their atheism coming to the forefront.

assumption.

You assumed that people assumed you to be a hedonist for being an atheist.

[aca0260]

OP - think before trolling.

Are Browns fans URM's because the Browns blow? They are a minority with regards to population and they have likely suffered the same degree of harship as an atheist in contemporary America. Use your head.

[JohnV]

Yes? Plato, Diagoras, Socrates, etc etc.

How is a belief in truth and form different from a belief in god?

For one, they killed Socrates for it, so they must have thought it was pretty different.

so you acknowledge that the greeks as a society were religious?

Sure, yet they produced individuals who clearly had a sense of morality higher than any of their peers who were not.

Do you acknowledge that we have largely atheist/agnostic places today that have plenty of culture and exhibit the same level of values/morality?

[JohnV]

assumption.

Absolutely no assumptions were made in the creation of your quoted post. You're an idiot.

Are you kidding me? You know how volatile this topic is in Texas? I mean look at this forum, I asked a simple question and the first couple of post assumed I was a hedonistic demon spawn. There are PLENTY of cases of people being fired which lead back to their atheism coming to the forefront.

assumption.

You assumed that people assumed you to be a hedonist for being an atheist.

The guy said it in his post lol.

[JohnV]

Being an atheist is hard. I can understand why you would want to tell schools of the burden, or cross, you bear.

Is it any less hard than being Mexican, black, or gay? I don't really see Jim Crow laws around anymore, rather the opposite, so I see the 'struggle' as more or less equivalent.

It's clearly equally as hard, if not moreso, in today's United States. The higher rates of imprisoned atheists reflects this. Same with atheists below the poverty line.

These are reflective of economic backgrounds. But URM doesn't include just "poor", does it?