BJC announces 2008 religious liberty high school essay contest

WASHINGTON — To engage high school students in church-state issues and to generate interest from a wide range of Baptists, the BJC has launched the 2008 Religious Liberty High School Essay Contest.

Open to all Baptist high school students in the classes of 2008 and 2009, the contest offers a grand prize of $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. Second prize is $500, and third prize is $100.

Winners will be announced in the summer of 2008 and will be featured in the BJC’s flagship publication, Report from the Capital. The grand prize winner will also be recognized at the BJC board meeting in Washington, D.C., on October 6, 2008. Judges reserve the right to present no awards or to reduce the number of awards if an insufficient number of deserving entries is received.

The 2008 topic asks students to discuss the relevance of religious faith to politics, including whether and to what extent faith should be an election issue in 2008. Essays must be between 700 and 1,000 words. All essays must be postmarked by March 3, 2008.

Essays that do not meet the minimum qualifications will not be judged. To download a registration form and a promotional flier, visit www.bjconline.org/contest. For more information, contact Phallan Davis at 202-544-4226 or e-mail her at pdavis@bjconline.org.