You are teaching your son to be respectful of the choices of others, yet you are not allowing him to make his own choice in regards to the Scouts?

Are you so unsure of your own teaching that you cannot allow your son to even interact with those who might have a different point of view?

Your son, no matter how old or how young, has a mind of his own. He also has a mother who is willing and able to teach him about discrimination and bigotry. That should be more than enough to help him make up his own mind in regards to the organizations in which he participates.

Besides, the Scouts have a lot of good they can offer. How to be a good citizen, how to be self-reliant and resourceful.

I strongly urge you to provide your son with the education and support he needs to become the wonderful human being we both know he can be. Restricting his activities in an attempt to shield him, when he has done nothing wrong, will do nothing but stir up unnecessary resentment.

…resentment that will be directed at -you- rather than to those who would discriminate.

But, As a non-believer, I struggle with “God” being in the Scout Oath. For me, it was the only part of my scouting experience that god was forced upon me. For most of my peers that were involved with the BSA, god was a choice. Some were fundamental believers, and others had hardly any religion in there lives. When it came time for religious services at camp, the only rule was that you had to either go to the denominational service of your choice, or spend some quite time reflecting on your own thoughts of nature and religion.

Like any organization with a wide variety of people from varying backgrounds there will be adults who push religion and other prejedices down the scouts throat. I was lucking in that I hardly had any contact with those people. I imagine though, if I was vocal about my non-belief it may have been different, but I kept it to myself like I expected everyone else to keep their religion to oneself.

I believe that the Scouting program does way more good than bad, (but I guess you could say that about the church and almost every organization out there). As an atheist, one must weigh the good and the bad. If a scout leader is trying to force a religion down the scouts throat, he is going against the scouting laws. Just like the constitution, the BSA makes no rules respecting one religion over another. Even the word god is fuzzy in the BSA. The only type of non-believer that I think the BSA could actually discriminate against would be a (according to Dawkins scale of 1-7) would be a fundamentalist 7 or one who claims with 100% certanty that they know there is no god.

Go to, http://www.laobserved.com/visiting/2009/10/robert_m_saltzman_is_a.php

Are there any Police Officers or young Explorer members presently in the program who are either Atheists, or Gay?

Secondly, Declaration of Independence Signer SAMUEL ADAMS once declared that:
“In a state of Nature, all men are equally bound by the Laws of their Creator.”

This moral obligation of men is what determines how ‘We the People,’ must govern our conduct towards our fellow men-according to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.”

The Founders of our country adopted and Declared this Creed long ago, that:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain Unalienable Rights among which are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The Boy Scout Oath which states: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and My country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other People at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight-in this context, violates no moral duty of Scout-Explorers, “to do to others’ what they would have others’ do to them,” commanded by Jesus in Matthew 7:12. (NIV Bible)
Neither does it fail to “Promote the General Welfare,” or secure the Unalienable Rights that Atheists and Gays now already enjoy, along with everyone else under “the U.S. And State Constitutions.

In fact it is the City of Los Angeles’s so called, non-discriminatory law Policy that is denying the Boy Scouts equal protection in their belief, that it is their Mission to provide a service to the community that is NOT “LICENTIOUS, OR INCONSISTENT TO ITS OWN PEACE AND SAFETY.” [See: California Constitution, Article 1, Section 4].

http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/10/31/lapd-cuts-ties-with-boy-scouts-because-of-their-bigotry/#comments

Contact info:
Keith Hardine
Self-Defense/Civil Rights Consultant, 323 7084647
keith1@att.blackberry.net

I don’t really feel too guilty about not buying their popcorn since it’s outrageously priced anyway. I hate to be giving that much money to an organization that is against what I believe in.

I had issues around the undertones originally, but it became clear that the leaders at all levels were not interested in pursuing any religious agenda, and were there to guide kids regarding respect, rules, and how to do things (fires etc). In talking with one of the more senior leaders, there were proclaimed atheists in various troops, and as far as she was concerned religion should play no part in scouting, and it didn’t in our “section”

Having said that, during one training session for the leaders the religious stuff got a little over the top. In the end it all comes down to the individual leaders of the “lodge/pack/troop”. It would be a shame for people to keep their kids out of Scouting entirely because of this misguided policy in the states.

The experience of each scout with the discriminatory, bigoted policies of the BSA varies a great deal depending on which troop they are in. Other commenters have pointed out that it is the national leadership that pushes the hard line, and the boys are only affected by it if the local leadership decides to tow it, too. I never, for instance, experienced it in my troop. My best friend, however, never got to Eagle because he was cast out at the rank of Life Scout (the level right before Eagle) for admitting to being an atheist. He was in Texas at the time, while I was in Alabama. So, you see, it really varies depending on how much the local leaders agree with and want to stick to the national policies.

I applaud the LAPD in taking the correct stance. No government organization should actively support the BSA until and unless they change their backwards, unacceptable, and entirely (wait for it) un-American policies. ;P

But no matter how valuable the programs, that value is no justification for them to be administered by an agency that does not comply with the city’s non-discrimination laws.

Wow, this is one of the most level-headed and direct statements I’ve ever heard from a city official! Good job, LAPD.

The spirit of Scouting isn’t what needs changing – it’s those in national management.