9th place (tie) — 2024 high school essay contest: Evelyn Dietz
FFRF awarded Evelyn $400.
By Evelyn Dietz
As a general rule, religious “Nones” have the potential to protect pressing rights regarding bodily autonomy in the United States, whether it relates to reproductive rights, gender affirming care or restricted access to information and books.
According to the Pew Research Center, 86 percent of religiously unaffiliated people hold the belief that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as opposed to just 25 percent of white evangelical Protestants. With atheists and agnostics going out to vote at similar or higher rates than those who are religiously affiliated, there is the potential to counteract or reverse the dangerous six-week or total abortion bans that have been plaguing the nation.
Additionally, with the higher number of individuals coming out as transgender, particularly in Gen Z, gender-affirming care and access to facilities and youth activities (sports teams, bathrooms, etc.) is becoming increasingly important.
As I learned from the National Library of Medicine, those holding conservative religious beliefs or identifying as religious are more likely to display transphobic behaviors and language. Oftentimes, homophobia and transphobia among religious communities is rooted in the fear of their belief systems, such as entrenched roles within the gender binary or a grand divine plan, collapsing. Professionals in the medical, educational and social work fields who identify as Nones are more likely to be unprejudiced and unbiased toward queer individuals within their work, and thus perform at a higher level of professionalism.
Personally, a lack of religion has been a positive attribute in my life for a variety of reasons, some of which I did not even realize until recently. For example, I have an utter lack of spiritual angst, and the idea that the universe is inherently meaningless has always appeared to be common sense for me. This is partially attributed to a lack of childhood influences referencing fate, destiny, God’s will, a defined purpose for life, or what have you.
The existential notion that you yourself are responsible for making meaning out of your life is incredibly freeing, rather than being a burden. Diversity of thought is one of the most wonderous things humankind has to offer. Furthermore, my mother’s spiritualism combined with my father’s atheism has created an interesting blend of realism and curiosity within me. I have had the opportunity to explore and experiment with different religious beliefs and scientific concepts, while secure in the knowledge that my moral code is not dependent on an ancient text.
Being able to explore ties between science and religion, my own body, emotional processing, and the other shenanigans of life with very limited shame is highly attributed to being raised nonreligious, and I will always be immensely grateful for that.
Evelyn, 18, is from Gainesville, Fla., and attends Rollins College, with plans to major in international relations. “I hope to have a career in public relations or some variety of diplomacy,” Evelyn writes. “My interest in travel and global community building was piqued not only by my family’s decision to live in Costa Rica for two years during my childhood, but also due to being accepted into Camp Rising Sun, a leadership initiative that brings together teens from all over the world to engage in projects.”
