I suppose this is the point where I give you all some background. The Boy Scouts have been one of the few constants of my life. I started Scouting as a kid in England (my birthplace) and stuck with it all the way to becoming an Eagle Scout (For those of you not aware, this is the highest rank in the BSA. Only 2% of scouts have achieved it in the BSA’s history; so yeah, kind of a big deal). The BSA helped me bounce back from a transcontinental move that turned my life upside-down; it helped me discover the passion for nature that still drives me toward becoming a biologist; and of the 8 friends I trust more than anyone in the world, 5 of them I met through scouting.
You can probably tell how important Scouting has been in my life, and I want it to remain a big part of my future too; I want to bring my eventual children into the movement and guide others as I had been. Which makes it so painful to deal with the BSA’s official stance stating:“Because of its views concerning the duty to God, Boy Scouts of America believes that an atheist or agnostic is not an appropriate role model of the Scout Oath and Law for adolescent boys. Because of Scouting’s methods and beliefs, Scouting does not accept atheists and agnostics as members or adult volunteer leaders."
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| Don't agree with two of these words? You must be a terrible person. |
So it’s fairly obvious this is a problem in the atheist community, one that probably doesn't get as much publicity as it deserves. The question is, what can be done? On the legal side of things I can’t give a definite plan, but it needs to involve having people brave enough to stand up against this. Is it fun? No, is it easy? Hell no, but is it necessary? Absolutely. Every day we see examples of secular acceptance rising out of hard fought battles against ignorance and intolerance. This can be one of those battles, if only we stand together against nonreligious discrimination and never back down from our beliefs.
For those individuals who may be atheists within a scout troop (I know you exist), reconciling the two belief systems can be incredibly difficult in your personal life, but it can be done if you think about things the right way. During the final board of review for my Eagle rank, I had to show how I was following each and every part of the scout law, reverent included. While I was not yet an out and proud atheist, I was in the realm of the nonreligious, and certainly not reverent towards a God. How did I reconcile my beliefs? I thought about what I was reverent toward. I talked about how I held the golden rule as a personal law, and how I had a deep love and appreciation for the outdoors (the closest I’ve come to what people call a religious experience was on the peak of a mountain in New Mexico called the Tooth of Time). In fact, if it weren't for the Boy Scouts, I would never have found something I could be reverent toward. So thank you Scouting, for showing me the light; my apparently unacceptable, inappropriate light.
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| Some people find peace in a church. I found it somewhere better. |
EDIT: out of respect for one of my sources and to preserve his anonymity, I have removed a portion of this post. I ask of the readers that you respect my ability to do this.
10 comments:
A thoughtful reflection, thank you for your time in putting your thoughts down on paper. I enjoyed reading it quite a bit.
I, too am a secular eagle scout. I was still "in the closet" so to speak when I was in scouting, though. I also went to Philmont, and though I didn't really experience much on the Tooth, Mount Baldy did give me a sense of "oneness" and respect for the natural world. Great reflection, I'm glad I read it.
How unfortunate.
If you want an atheist scouting organization there is still just enough freedom left in America for you to create one.
But, if you sue BOA into becoming atheist, the Theists will be the ones discriminated against. Is that what you want? Discrimination against theists?
Hi Dan, I also find this article pertinent to myself. I was never religious, even though my parents started me in scouting fairly early. I completed all ranks from cub scouts up to Eagle scout in the BSA. I still hold my time in scouts as one of the greatest times of personal growth. It really mellowed me out, I learned how to get along with other people and then how to lead them. I learned about our beautiful earth and how to protect and respect it. The greatest part was the relationships I developed with my fellow scouts, and notably the relationship with my divorced parents, who were among the few scouting parents that made a point to attend every event and camp-out possible. What took away from all these great things was consciously knowing and thinking every time I recited the full scout law and pledge that I was lying to myself and everyone around me. It seemed to be worth the sacrifice to enjoy all the other aspects.
I would not lie about it today, and if they wanted the award back I'd drop it at their feet.
But recently, my father posed the issue of giving back to scouts (I am now 23). With some ire, I told him they wouldn't want me, to which he scoffed and responded by asking why I was so adamant or proud about all this atheist stuff. I told him it wasn't my choice to be atheist and that he was the one who had raised me to become what I am. The truth is that they really wouldn't want me, even though I have the desire to give back. I am certainly more steadfast and vocal about what I have experienced to be true, and the methods to arrive at truth. As a purely hypothetical question, I wonder if it would be worth it to lie again in order to help those that helped me? In the future, would I lie so my son could hopefully experience some of the great things this organization has to offer?
It's rather moot because I know I will not lie again, or raise a child who would want to lie to remain in such an organization.
Dan... wow. I thank you for writing this thoughtful peace. As a person very active in Scouting, I agree with you completely. I am religious, I believe that God exists, but I also firmly believe that you can believe in whatever you want.
I hold freedom and choice as high as I hold my God. You can believe that there is not God. This does not offend me, I don't think that you are wrong, and I know that are a great asset to the youth of America and your friends. I have been around for a long time, and I have heard the same plans, take the BSA to court. It doesn't work, because they have rights as well. The BSA, just like you are protected under the same freedoms I hold dear. You cannot sacrifice one to have the other.
HOWEVER, change is good, change is inevitable, I live for change, it is what made it illegal for a white man to own a black man, it is what gave women the right to vote. Change is good. My suggestion is to make noise. Write, call, email the people in charge of the BSA and demand change. If they won't listen, take it viral, just like this. Get your message out. Change from within is good and righteous. I have met many scouters, I could never tell who was atheist, who was gay, these people are part of our program, and have every right to be heard and taught.
I guess it all comes down to the basic belief in the goodness of people. It is wrong to discriminate, it is wrong to be prejudice, we teach the opposite. It is time for the BSA to pick up the banner and march with change. We must be the change we wish to see the world. I believe that, I fight for atheists, and homosexuals whenever I can. I do this because my conscience forces me to. When you are down, look up, look around at nature, look at the stars, that is where you will find inspiration!
Dan, so do you believe you have the right to be in Scouting? Because joining a private organization is not a right. The BSA has a strict code of honor and by lying throughout Scouting you have not lived up to the Oath and Law. As a Scout and a friend of you and Jeff, though I know him better, I know you both follow the aspects of the Scout Oath and Law except those previously mentioned. However BSA has the right as a private organization to make its own rules as stated by the Constitution of the United States of America.
I respect your right to believe as you do and will fight for you to have the right to believe what you wish, but why must you think you have the right to be in a group where you don't fit the qualifications? It's like applying for a job, if you don't have the right qualifications then you don't get the job. You are part of the ISSA a group of atheists and agnostics, I couldn't join this group honestly because I don't fit the qualifications.
Like I said earlier I will defend you're right to have your beliefs, but why must you try to take away mine, am I not allowed to be part of a group of like minded individuals as myself? That's what the BSA is a group of like minded individuals, If you don't agree with their policies then by definition you aren't like minded.
Looking back at this I see it could be taken as argumentative and accusatory, that isn't what I meant this to be. However this is the best I can do at the moment. What I wanted was to give you a different point of view to think about. I know Jeff's situation, though I didn't have as much information as you and I don't like it. There is nothing to do however, because the BSA is completely within its rights to do so. I believe Jeff does a great job teaching at the camp and that he performed well in his managerial position this year, but that doesn't change the fact that he doesn't meet all of the qualifications for the job.
I love the entire Oath and Law, you only part's of it. However unless you can take the entire thing to heart then the rest of it is basically meaningless. I am pretty sure you'll disagree with that but, again I'm trying to offer you a different viewpoint. Just a different way it might be seen, I just ask that you think about this. Feel free to continue to think as you do, but just think of the other side, try to see their point of view. Think about why people chose those attributes for the Oath and Law, why they thought it was so important and why it has lasted for over one hundred years. Don't feel the need to respond, however if you want to I'll be glad to continue the discussion as long as we can peacefully debate and not argue, myself included.
I would be happy to discuss this with you further, although there are a few things I would prefer to discuss with you in private, and would like you to email me at hay6@illinois.edu.
First off I am glad you are offering a different viewpoint, it is vital in this world for people to voice their opinions. There is one point in your response I particularly want to address. "Like I said earlier I will defend you're right to have your beliefs, but why must you try to take away mine".
I do not wish to take away from what you have. From what I gather you use God as your guide for morality, and I have no issue with that. I find that the inclusion of duty to God and Reverence in Scouting also serves as a way to guide young kids towards a moral sense of guidance, which is what kids need. My wish, and the lesson I wanted to send out with this post, is that those who currently derive their moral views from elsewhere should have the ability to participate. I do not want to completely remove religion from Scouting, that is their right to have. I only wish that so it be slightly adapted so that those with a moral equivalent be allowed to participate.
As an addition, I would like to ask you how far from likeminded a person can go before they begin to violate the principles of scouting. Do pantheistic belief systems still count in your mind? I know that those who are Wiccan are deemed as being suitably religious, even though their deity may differ entirely from what you believe. What about certain sects of Buddhism? these can often be atheistic in their nature, but the BSA allows them. I bring these up to show that people derive their moral values from all over the place, and if you found someone who shares the exact same moral values as you, from being trustworthy to showing (as I mentioned in my article) reverence, would they really not be acceptably likeminded if they happen to find that their values come from themselves, not from a deity?
The Scout Oath requires a scout to do his duty to God. The oath also requires that a scout do his duty to his country. This duty to Country would include, among other things, upholding the laws and ideals of the United States Constitution. That same Constitution guarantees freedom from discrimination on the basis of religion. When a young man who does not believe in God is discriminated against by the BSA, then the BSA is contradicting the Scout Oath. The BSA is not required, to not contradict itself on any legal basis. However by contradicting itself from the very top they are showing its’ members that it is okay to lie which if I am not mistaken isn’t very TRUSTWORTHY and is the very opposite of HONEST. The BSA either needs to allow members who don’t believe in God to Join or they need to change their oath to truly reflect what they think is right.
-Kyle Carpenter
The constitution does not protect citizens from discriminating against other citizens, it protects citizens from discrimination from the government. Discrimination in all other forms is 100% legal. Is a straight person discriminating when they only date people of the same race and opposite sex? I see that as mere preference.
If they don't want certain individuals in their organization, they have full right to do so and only Government cannot pull that card. Other than that, 100% legal and justified.
It seems that you didn't understand what was being said. Nobody said it was illegal. Just that the scout oath contradicts itself.
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