personal statement example #1 religion and science

PERSONAL STATEMENT EXAMPLE #1

RELIGION AND SCIENCE

“Dev, what’s your religion?”

I felt hot; my heart quickened. I tensed with apprehension while hurriedly reviewing possible

answer choices in my head—atheist, agnostic? Lurking much farther down the list—Muslim?

Although my family is Ismaili, part of a small sect in the Shia branch of Islam, I couldn’t identify

myself as such. Not only did I fear that doing so would alienate me from my friends, but I also

struggled to truly buy into the faith.

What I’d heard of my religion from the outside world seemed to stand in stark opposition to what

I had seen at home and at the mosque: that Islam cherishes peace and pluralism, charity, and

compassion. Teachers and friends denounced it as a religion rooted in violence; nightly news

anchors reported on a seemingly unending avalanche of terrorist attacks, supposedly affirmed by

messages of hate in the Quran. Left with scant parental guidance, I wondered if they were right. I

wondered if extremist groups really did represent the religion of my parents and grandparents, if

their religion really was one of intolerance.

As I tried to fit into my largely Judeo-Christian community, my disenchantment towards my

family’s faith evolved into increasing self-consciousness about my heritage. When asked about

my background, I wouldn’t say that my father’s family is Ugandan, but that they were expelled

from the country by the dictator Idi Amin. I wouldn’t say that my mother’s family has links to

both India and Pakistan. I would instead say that I’m British, a true statement to be certain, but

also one more easily digested by my American friends.

Somewhat detached from my religion and heritage, I searched for other philosophies to make up

for what I had lost, eventually finding that faith in math and the sciences. I learned of the

computational complexity of the human mind, discovered the simple elegance of calculus, and

found myself awestruck by the grand scale of the cosmos. I investigated the inner workings and

processes of the internet, sparking my fascination with computer science.

Yet, my notion of science and religion as opposing forces was challenged by a TED Talk in the

winter of my junior year. As the speaker discussed potential consequences of artificial

intelligence and machine learning, I was struck by his belief that A.I. might be the last truly

human invention as the technology itself diminishes the contributions of our species. The

troubling assertion that humans have little intrinsic value made me wonder—What does it mean

to be human? What, if anything, makes us valuable? These were questions to which science did

not have the answer.

I then realized that the belief that humankind is unique and extraordinary is rooted not in science,

but rather in faith. I now approach my faith differently from my parents and grandparents,

centered on the conviction that the human soul, and the innate sense of ethics and justice it

provides, is ultimately what endows us with worth. But that’s not all religion has given me.