How to write a common app / essay about faith and religious topics?

Topic is about how i lived in the shadow of a religion and broke free. I know that religious writing is tough and should be avoided but the topic is important to me and i want to try a draft of it. what should I avoid doing and what things should I try to do?

Avoid saying or implying that religious people are ignorant or close-minded (Which I guess could be hard if you're writing about "breaking free"), or that the faith you were coming from was "false".

Try to remain humble and emphasize what you learned, and try to emphasize tolerance, because you don't want to come off as bitter or close-minded.

Religion and culture differences - need more ideas on my essay about various experiences and beliefs

The topic is:
Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience

The ideas I have so far are religion differences and culture differences.

Also, can I use religion on my college essays?

Experiences could range from a person who has a different lifestyle then you at school to meeting someone who just simply had a different take than you on life. I wouldn't advice talking about religion in the essay unless you can mold it into an extremely non-offending way. In General religion is a touchy subject.

@pjb, there is definitely a lot of topics to write about experiences and beliefs and to start one will definitely lead you to other ideas that surrounds the original topic. Here are a few points I would like you to consider before starting to write;

- know your topic
- do an extensive research
- know your facts
- be objective
- site examples
- differentiate angles and comparison
- know the limit and the extent of what to share and what not to
- remain true to your idea

Lastly, enjoy writing your essay, give it your heart and your knowledge.