2026 KENNETH L. PROULX MEMORIAL ESSAY CONTEST FOR FREETHINKING ONGOING COLLEGE STUDENTS

2026 KENNETH L. PROULX MEMORIAL ESSAY CONTEST FOR FREETHINKING ONGOING COLLEGE STUDENTS:

This essay competition is sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a 501(c)3 educational nonprofit established nationally in 1978. This contest is one of five national essay competitions sponsored by the organization annually.

FFRF serves as the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics, non-religious individuals) and works as a state/ church watchdog to uphold the constitutional principle of state/church separation.

All eligible entrants are offered a full one-year complimentary student membership, which includes a digital version of 10 issues of Freethought Today, (FFRF's newspaper, which publishes winning student essays), and a complimentary book or premium. 

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.

AWARDS: 

• 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 Award: $1,000 

• Seventh Place Award: $750 

• Eighth Place Award: $500 

• Ninth Place Award: $400 

• Tenth Place Award: $300 

• Optional Honorable Mention(s): $200 

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.

WORD COUNT: 450-650 words. 

Fill out application and submit your essay no later than 11:59 pm CDT , June 1, 2026.

Winners will be notified no later than the end of September 2026.

SUBMISSION RULES: Please fill out online submission form. Please choose your own title, do not use the topic of the essay as the title. Include links to quotes, studies or major facts relied upon, or footnote. Our judges will score your paper more favorably if you follow these instructions.    

AI POLICY, WARNING. You will be asked to warrant that AI is not used in writing the text of your essay beyond grammar or spell check. While you may wish to use AI in any research, be advised that using AI exclusively for research or relying exclusively on AI to generate your ideas will likely detract from the merits of your essay and result in a lower score. We’d rather see typos or minor grammatical errors than template language. Such reliance is usually obvious: because it results in our receiving a series of repetitive, similar essays all making the same general arguments.

The famed 19th century freethinker Robert G. Ingersoll said it best: “I do not borrow ideas. I have a factory of my own.” We are not looking for regurgitation of facts or opinions using group data. This is a personal essay. We are asking you to think deeply about the topic and are seeking your own thoughts, expressed in your own words and derived from your own unique experiences. You’re a lot smarter and more creative than a bot! FFRF monitors for plagiarism and AI.

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. You also agree, if you win an award, to promptly provide FFRF with a high-resolution 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." 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email FFRF at ltreu@ffrf.org or call (608)256-8900.

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 2026.

If you're entering college in Fall 2026 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 a first-in-family student up to age 21, who is currently enrolled in college, you may enter the David Hudak Essay Contest for First-in-Family, but You may only enter one FFRF essay competition per year.

OTHER FFRF SCHOLARSHIP Opportunities:
2026 William J Schulz Memorial Essay for Freethinking College-Bound High School Seniors
2026 David Hudak Memorial Essay Contest for Freethinking First-in-Family to Attend College
2026 Cornelius Vander Broek Memorial Essay Contest for Freethinking Graduate/"Older" Students (to age 30)