See below for 2026 essay contest information.
Interested in seeing the winners from the 2025 essay contests? You can find them here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation 2026 essay contests cater to students in various ages and class ranges.
Students may only enter one FFRF contest annually and may not enter a contest if they have previously won an award in that particular contest.
Requirements: Winners may be asked to send verification of student enrollment. Students will be disqualified if they do not follow instructions, including the word limit and the deadline. Students must submit their essays via the online application and carefully review all contest rules. FFRF monitors for plagiarism. Include links or footnotes for quotes, studies cited, or significant facts relied upon. Entrants must verify that the essay is their original work and that AI was not used in the writing of the text (beyond grammar and spellcheck).
Judges: Would you like to be a volunteer judge for our essay contest submissions? You can find the application form here.
-
- David Hudak Memorial black, indigenous and persons of color student essay competition – opens March 24, 2026
- William Schulz high school essay contest – opens March 24, 2026
- Kenneth L. Proulx Memorial essay contest for ongoing college students – opens March 24, 2026
- Cornelius Vander Broek graduate/older student essay competition – opens March 24, 2026
- Diane and Stephen Uhl Memorial essay competition for law students – Closed
2026 David Hudak Memorial black, indigenous and persons of color student essay competition
ELIGIBILITY: Open only to individuals ages 17-21, who will be attending or are currently enrolled in a North American college or university in fall 2026, and whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) have not completed an associate’s (2-year) or bachelor’s degree (4-year) from an accredited college or university. If you will be graduating from college in the spring or summer 2026, you remain eligible to enter this contest.
TOPIC: Why white supremacy goes hand-in-hand with Christian nationalism.
PROMPT: Write an essay about the inherent white racism in Christian nationalism. You may wish to write about it from a historic or a political perspective, but please be sure to include why it is a threat to our secular democracy and to you as an individual, or to your own community or ethnic or racial minorities in the United States. Include something about your own experiences with or reactions to white Christian nationalism.
Deadline: June 1, 2026
Here are the full rules and application form. Please reach out to FFRF with any questions.
2026 William Schulz high school essay contest
THIS YEAR’S TOPIC: My favorite freethought/humanist hero/ine.“The world would be astonished if it knew how great a proportion of its brightest ornaments — of those most distinguished even in popular estimation for wisdom and virtue — are complete skeptics in religion.” — John Stuart Mill
PROMPT: Studies show that nonbelievers are still at the bottom of the social ladder when it comes to social acceptance. Many Americans don’t realize how many activists or achievers they admire are not religious. To help educate them, write a personal essay about your favorite freethinker or humanist and what they did or are doing to improve or enrich our lives. It might be a nonreligious scientist, an artist or writer, a reformer — or an everyday person in your life who has made the world better and inspired you. Please briefly explain their influence or accomplishments and briefly document their nonreligious views. Tell us what they have meant to you as a humanist and nonbeliever. For quotes or citations, please document using links or footnotes.
Deadline: June 1, 2026
Here are the full rules and application form. Please reach out to FFRF with any questions.
2026 Kenneth L. Proulx Memorial essay contest for ongoing college students
THIS YEAR’S TOPIC: Why Trump is wrong that ‘you just can’t have a great country if you don’t have religion.’
PROMPT: Write a first-person essay that makes the case about why President Trump is wrong to claim that “you just can’t have a great country if you don’t have religion.” Choose one or more such quotes by Trump (citing them in your essay) and show why his claims are fallacious. You may wish to marshall evidence or history that contradicts Trump’s claims, or address how his words threaten state/church separation and religious freedom. Save room to include something about your own reaction as a nonbeliever to such pronouncements by the president. Include links or footnotes for quotes or major citations.
Deadline: June 1, 2026
Here are the full rules and application form. Please reach out to FFRF with any questions.
2026 Cornelius Vander Broek graduate/older student essay competition
ELIGIBILITY: Open to any graduate students through age 30, or to undergraduate students ages 25-30 who attend a North American college or university . You remain eligible to enter this contest if you will graduate by spring or summer of 2026. You may only enter one FFRF essay competition per year. If you are a law student, DO NOT enter the graduate competition. You are eligible to enter the Diane and Stephen Uhl Law Student contest (which is closed for 2026 and the 2027 contest will be announced in the Fall.)
TOPIC: “Why the 250-year-old United States of America is not a Christian nation.”
PROMPT: Research and write an essay documenting why the U.S. government is not based on God or Christianity. Refute the claim by President Trump and others that the 250-year-old Declaration of Independence proves that our government is based on God. Include and refute a few other timely examples of legislators, public officials or other individuals promoting the Christian nation myth. Save space to include your own thoughts on why you find “Christian nation” propaganda and disinformation dangerous to our democracy and also how you feel about this as a nonbeliever. Include links or footnotes for quotes or major citations.
Deadline: June 1, 2026
Here are the full rules and application form. Please reach out to FFRF with any questions.
2026 Diane and Stephen Uhl Memorial essay competition for law students
Prompt: In 2025 the Supreme Court extended Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), citing it repeatedly in Mahmoud v. Taylor, where the Court sided with religious parents who objected on religious grounds to public school instruction that included books with LGBTQ themes or characters.
Deadline: CLOSED
All eligible entrants of any student essay competition will receive a digital year-long student membership in FFRF.
FFRF appreciates its members who make the effort to contact local high schools, colleges and universities to help publicize its competitions.
FFRF has offered essay competitions to college students since 1979, high school students since 1994, grad students since 2010 and one dedicated to students of color since 2016. A fifth contest, open to law students, began in 2019.
“FFRF is happy to see another generation of freethinkers raising their voices in protest against the continuing threat of Christian nationalism,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The next generation promises to have the greatest population of freethinkers yet, and FFRF is proud to lend its support to keep student advocacy alive and thriving.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With nearly 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe.
The post 2026 Student Essay Contests appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.