Essay Prompt, Requirements, Eligibility, and Awards

AWARDS:

Kenneth L. Proulx Memorial First Place Prize: $3,500
Second Place Award: $3,000
Third Place Award: $2,500
Fourth Place Award: $2,000
Fifth Place Award: $1,500
Sixth Place Mr. Madison Arnold Award: $1,000
Seventh Place Award: $750
Eighth Place Award: $500
Ninth Place Award: $400
Tenth Place Award: $300

Optional Honorable Mention(s): $200

All eligible entrants are offered a full 1-year complimentary student membership to FFRF, which includes a digital version of 10 issues a year of Freethought Today (FFRF's newspaper, which publishes winning student essays), and a complimentary book or premium.
THIS YEAR'S TOPIC: Why the only afterlife that should concern us is leaving our descendants and planet a secure and pleasant future.

PROMPT:
Research and write a first-person essay about how religious mindsets and belief in an unprovable “afterlife” have a negative impact on promoting human welfare and our planet. Show how this religious claim is still leading our planet astray in solving the world’s problems, such as climate change, inequality or public health. FOCUS ON ONE ISSUE. Briefly explain why you reject religion and belief in an afterlife and why it’s best to keep our focus on this world.

WORD COUNT: 450-650 words
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all ongoing undergraduate college students up to age 24 already attending a North American college or university. You remain eligible to enter this contest if you will graduate from college by spring or summer of 2025.

If you're entering college in Fall 2025 for the first time, please enter FFRF's contest for college-bound high school seniors. If you're an undergraduate student age 25 through 30, please enter FFRF's graduate/"older" student essay contest instead. If you're Black, Indigenous or a Student of Color up to age 21, who is currently enrolled in college, you may enter this contest or the David Hudak Essay Contest for Black, Indigenous and Students of Color, but you may not enter both contests. You may only enter one FFRF essay competition per year.

DEADLINE: Fill out application and submit your essay no later than 11:59 pm CDT, June 1, 2025. Winners will be notified no later than September 2025.

SUBMISSION RULES: Essay must be 450-650 words, typed, double-spaced, standard margins, and font size 11 to 14 point. Include your name and the title of your essay on each page. Pages must be numbered. Indicate word length at end of essay. Choose your own title. Do not upload any other documents here, such as a resume. Include links or footnotes for quotes, studies or major facts relied on. Your essay will score more favorably by following all instructions. FFRF monitors for plagiarism and A.I. (e.g., ChatGPT, etc.).

AGREEMENT: By entering the competition, you agree to permit your name and winning essay to be printed in full or in part in Freethought Today, FFRF's newspaper; ANNOUNCED IN A NEWS RELEASE, AND POSTED ONLINE AT FFRF's WEBSITE, AND PRINTED IN FFRF's NEWSPAPER FREETHOUGHT TODAY; You also agree, if you win an award, to promptly provide FFRF with a photograph of yourself suitable for reproduction with your winning essay.

REQUIREMENTS: Winners may be asked to send verification of student enrollment. Students will be disqualified if you do not follow instructions, including word limit and deadline. You may not re-enter this contest if FFRF has previously awarded you for an essay in the college contest, (previously named the Michael Hakeem Memorial contest). If you have previously entered but did not win, you may submit another essay in this contest.

BANISH MANGLISH: FFRF encourages you to please use inclusive language, rather than language that presumes everyone is male. For example, try "humanity" or "humankind," rather than "mankind."

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