Atheists?

[naraht]

I guess this counts as Recruitment. Does anyone know if there is a list of which fraternities and sororities require belief in a supreme being vs. which allow atheists to be members?

[Kevin]

I know the Masons would turn atheists away, but I haven't heard about FSL organizations which do that. I wonder whether they'd be able to maintain numbers if that was the case.

[ForeverRoses]

Seeing as one of the "off limits" topics during recruitment is religion, I cannot imagine how this would even normally come up. (don't talk about the Bs- boys, booze, or bibles). I guess a PNM could volunteer the info in relation to a club or group they were involved in, but it wouldn't be a standard question.

[carnation]

Years ago, a GC member whom I barely knew lit into me because she "knew" that sororities in Alabama wouldn't admit Catholics. We had a bunch of Catholics from Mobile in our sorority and so did the other sororities--the subject never came up unless you knew the girls.

[Titchou]

There is a Christian sorority at Alabama - been there several years. And when I was there, the Jewish groups still only took Jews. I went to a Catholic girls boarding school and so they KNEW I was Catholic. Had no problems. This was back in the day when you accepted or declined party invites. I was invited back every day to the ones I had accepted the day before. My roommate was from Mobile - and went to a Catholic school there. She pledged the group I listed 2nd and I pledged the group she listed 2nd. So in the 60s there wasn't a religious issue as far as my experience goes

[FSUZeta]

There were Protestant girls, Catholic girls, and Jewish girls in my chapter when I was at school. There may have been atheists. We just didn't talk about religion. It was more important that we like the girl and we thought she would fit in with the chapter personality.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

There were Protestant girls, Catholic girls, and Jewish girls in my chapter when I was at school. There may have been atheists. We just didn't talk about religion. It was more important that we like the girl and we thought she would fit in with the chapter personality.

This. So much This.

[carnation]

Exactly! I never heard it come up in membership selection!

[NYCMS]

I don't remember it ever coming up in conversations during the parties...girls just didn't talk religious faith. I mean, maybe you might learn after pledging, but I only remember a few girls who joined the chapter who never mentioned any faith background. No big deal.

[Benzgirl]

I don't think religion is an issue with today's 18-22 age group, particularly women in college. As a whole, they are more open-minded than those who graduated long ago or those who chose not to attend University. There may be individual members who might have opinions about religion or non-believers, but my guess is they don't openly discuss it because the subject has become taboo.
Because very few alumnae are permitted to attend membership selection in my sorority, we can't tell you what is discussed openly or how members vote by secret ballot.

[chi-o_cat]

I remember during my "pledge education" classes, approximately 30 years ago, at the time Chi Omega had an open motto of "Hellenic culture and Christian ideals." If you Google it, the phrase still exists all over the internet in connection to Chi O, including on its Wikipedia page, but does not appear on the Chi Omega website, so apparently it's been phased out, either officially or unofficially.

And in my (admittedly, pretty hazy) memories, I also remember our pledge trainer actually having us learn that phrase as "Judeo-Christian ideals" because it was more reflective of our chapter's make-up.

Either way, even though I probably was a budding young atheist back then, I wasn't as self-aware of my beliefs (non-beliefs?) as I am now. So, while I didn't really love religious references, they didn't bother me, either. I probably was like "Christian ideals? What's that supposed to mean? Oh, who cares, we have a party tonight with Kappa Sigma."

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by naraht

I guess this counts as Recruitment. Does anyone know if there is a list of which fraternities and sororities require belief in a supreme being vs. which allow atheists to be members?

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

Seeing as one of the "off limits" topics during recruitment is religion, I cannot imagine how this would even normally come up. (don't talk about the Bs- boys, booze, or bibles). I guess a PNM could volunteer the info in relation to a club or group they were involved in, but it wouldn't be a standard question.

Exactly. The president of Hillel will more than likely mention her leadership skills/position when she's a PNM, but the topic of her religion isn't dwelled upon by a chapter as a membership deal maker/breaker.

And I certainly hope atheists don't start begging the question of exclusion by NPC groups, since inclusive clauses specifically welcoming atheists aren't normally in sorority constitutions/bylaws. A more general inclusion clause, without specifically naming atheists or any other marginalized group, is more common.

[Psi U MC Vito]

I do wonder about it. Some of the male fraternities especially have ties to masonry, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had some of the same requirements we do, because from my understanding a lot of the ritual can be similar. At my lodge we always knew who came from a certain fraternity on campus because they instinctively knew how to do a couple of things we do in initiation. I won't get more detailed then that.