There's an interesting article on CNN today about a Boy Scout member that is being threatened with expulsion because he's an "Atheist". The kid is 19, is an Eagle Scout, has tons of merit badges, and done a thousand hours of community service, yet the organization will not let him stay in unless he commits to believing in a "higher power".
As a scout myself I find this offensive and it's not the first time the Boy Scouts of America organization has surprised me like this, they made a fool of themselves a while back when they expelled gays from the organization, why not just expel blacks and jews while they're at it so they can have an "ultimate race" of scouts.
I feel lucky that I had a good experience in Scouts. I had leaders that were very liberal, they would spend ample time teaching us topics, such as wilderness survival, and they would also teach us to think for ourselves. We had a really good time and topics like religion never came up, that's what church was for I thought. I myself was an Agnostic during my stint in Scouts, but it never really was an issue, our group dealt with more important subjects like our rank advancements, community service work, and best of all our outdoor adventures all over the state of Arizona. I even moved on from Boy Scouts to Explorers, another sub-group of the BSA organization. Again, religion and sexuality were never issues, instead we focused on learning business organization rules and exploring the world around us, everywhere from Colorado, to California, and in between. Some of the best memories of my life, and also where I met my fiance.
In summary, I think it's okay that the organization has rules like "members must believe in a higher-power" because that still leaves the subject pretty wide open. I just think the individual group leaders need to be more sensitive to the situations. The kid in question here seems like a bright hard working kid who is learning a lot in this time of his life, what he doesn't need is someone forcing him to believe in something, he should be given a chance to find something to believe in and the be allowed to make his own decision. As I said, I had a great time in the BSA, however, over the last few years I have started to seriously re-evaluate whether I would let my kids join the organization in the future.
Update: Kasei also commented on this subject today.
Posted by slugworth at October 31, 2002 10:57 AMThis topic was brought up at Orange Creamsicle and I made some comments there, but in general, I can understand why they might impose a high standard for leaders of the organization, but to impose such intollerant rules on the kids is just a travesty. I can understand parents having an expecation that the leaders of an organization have the same alignment as the organization themself, but for the kids, its another story. Especially at that age. A kid should not be denied because of his beliefs and/or lifestyle, nor should he/she be pressured for or against it one in an organization such as the boy scouts. Should it be illegal to have an organization where all the memebers are supposed to have the same alignment? No. Is it wrong for an organization such as the boy scouts to do it? Yes.
Posted by: Wonko on October 31, 2002 03:17 PMI have to disagree with you there wonko. Discrimination is the same regardless of your age and should never be tolerated.
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