BSA - What about THIS!

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Achilles

By giving government funded preference to a group that only lets Christian boys join, we send a negative message to those of other religions.

I was in the boy scouts when I was a kid. Good experience. I have nothing against them, but they should probably open up on religious matters. Boy Scouts is a fantastic experience for a kid, so why should they act prejudiced to some children based on religion? IMO, thats wrong.

I'm sorely disappointed that as a former Scout, you demonstrate a great deal of ignorance about the wide variety of faiths openly accepted and encouraged by the Boy Scouts of America. To state that Scouts only support Christianity and discourage other faiths shows a shocking level of misunderstanding about the Scouting program on your part. I'm afraid that I won't let you simply 'step out' of this conversation, as part of your statements aren't simply a matter of opinion, but blatantly incorrect. Allow me to demonstrate why.

As an example of some of the faiths recognized by the BSA, let me list from my son's Bear Scout Handbook the religious emblems given as examples that Bear Scouts of different faiths can earn (listed in order of appearance in the Handbook): Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Christian Scientist, Protestant, Churches of Christ, Meher Baba, Polish National Catholic, Buddhist, Baha'i, Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Church of America, Religious Society of Friends, and Roman Catholic.

The introductory paragraph for Achievement #1 reads in part, "The people who wrote and signed our Constitution were very wise. They understood the need of Americans to worship God as they choose."

Given the two examples above, I can't see where one could even begin to worry about the religious persecution of poor little "Joe Bob Muhammed" and his family. As an organization, the BSA supports a very diverse variety of faiths (I won't say all faiths, as I'm guessing Satanism isn't included in that group). If you believe otherwise based upon your experience as a Scout, then perhaps the religious prejudice you learned in Scouting actually comes from your leadership at the time. Have you considered that possibility?

Hopefully you've learned something tonight that you missed earlier in your Scouting experience.