If you were to simply weigh the opportunities for scholarships with either one of those choices, catholic high school scholarships would clearly win. There are many more catholic high school grants available than atheist scholarships. Your best bet for an atheist scholarship, may be winning an essay contest at the Freedom from Religion foundation at http://www.ffrf.org/outreach/student-essay-contests/. With the catholic high school scholarships your chances are many fold.

Your opportunities for financial assistance start with catholic elementary school tuition. For example, in the Diocese of Buffalo any student attending a catholic elementary school can apply for financial aid whether they are catholic or not. This program can get you through eighth grade and then it continues with catholic high school scholarship applications. I believe all catholic high schools offer financial assistance to families in financial need. You automatically get a reduced tuition rate by being a qualified catholic with a letter from your pastor.  In addition to that, you may receive financial assistance if you could otherwise not afford to attend a catholic high school. Expect to be a model student if you receive one of these scholarships, both academically as well as in your behavior.

Once you get out of high school the catholic high school scholarships really multiply. For many of the scholarships to catholic universities you must have attended a catholic high school to qualify. Many organizations offer such scholarships though. You can apply at the Knights of Columbus at www.kofc.org . They offer many scholarships for seminary and degrees leading to priesthood but also offer scholarships leading to other degrees.

You can find a list of scholarships at http://www.catholic.org/collegiate/scholarships.php. Some catholic scholarships are specific to a certain university or parish or both such as the A.L. Cosgrove Student Service Award which you can read about at http://www.catholic.org/collegiate/scholarships.php . Some depend on your heritage such as the Knights of Lithuania National Scholarships at http://www.knightsoflithuania.com/ which requires you to be catholic and be of Lithuanian descent. Others have very high academic expectations such as the Daniel Clifford Nolan Endowed Scholarship which expects you to be in the top 10% of your class in law school.

Religious scholarships are not limited to catholic high school scholarships though. You can find them for most denominations and even if you are catholic you can restrict your search even further by looking for Roman catholic scholarships which do exist or expanding your choices by looking for Christian scholarships. One site you may want to check into is at http://www.christianconnector.com. This site also has a scholarship drawing for Christian colleges.

As with any other type of scholarship, beware of scams. Just because you are looking at religious scholarships, do not throw out your common sense. Keep some of that free thinker spirit alive. You do not want to pay money to apply for a scholarship. You do not want to have to wait until after college to receive the funds. Religious groups have long been targets of scam artists because they are perceived as good natured and perhaps naïve. You are planning to go to college. Obviously, you are smart enough to see through those scams, so if the offer looks too good, it probably is.

Start with the well-known religious organizations first. Many of them offer scholarships. Better yet, start with your local parish. You may want to ask your pastor. It is unlikely that you are the first student he has encountered that is in search of additional college funding. He may be able to guide you towards groups or organizations that have helped past parish members.