There were three of them this year, young men from our congregation who completed all the work to become Eagle Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America, the highest level of scouting. They are now scouts for life, according to the way of the BSA. They worked hard in different ways, one with a project to create a little park in a downtown neighborhood, another with a soccer camp and used-equipment collection to benefit young Iraqi soccer players, and the third with a huge project to brighten up the meditation garden at our church. All of them showed leadership and creativity. All of them learned lessons of character and citizenship that will be with them all their lives. So of course, we honored them with little ceremonies in church. The first was in January, and the second was just today, June 8. We felt proud.
We also felt a little ambivalent. Not about the young men who earned this honor. But about the relationship of the values of our religious movement with those of the larger Boy Scouts of America. We feel a little sneaky and underhanded as we celebrate our flight of Eagles, because we are painfully aware that the BSA does not accept boys and men who have minority sexual orientations. Two of our adult members earned the rank of Eagle Scout. One of them proudly volunteers in the local scouting organization, at times feeling conflicted about the values of his church and the values of scouting. He assisted in the presentation of our congratulations to our new Eagles. The other, a gay man, has returned his insignia and certificate. He did this because he knew the scouts would not have accepted him if they had known of his sexual orientation.
When I spoke with this second man, the one who resigned, he said that yes, it was okay for us to celebrate the new Eagles in our flock. Much of who he is as an adult, he said, had to do with what he learned through scouting. So he was glad for the experience. And yet, he is not welcome. I'm sorry it has to be like this. I'm glad that scouting is there for those of our boys who fit in with their program. I salute their achievement. I hope the presence of Unitarian Universalist adults among the ranks of scout leadership will help bring change from within.
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5 comments:
BSA isn't just discriminating against youth and adults who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
They also discriminate on the basis of religion. Atheist and agnostic youth or adults cannot join any BSA organization.
Here's why:
"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."
I wonder if we should question the religious costs of UU involvement with BSA. Would UU parents encourage their children and youth to join leadership development programs that were officially racially discriminatory or officially anti-Semitic?
Probably not.
But the BSA's current discrimination is an acceptable price to pay for youth leadership development.
Mary,
I just did a quick browse of the Camp Fire program web site -- it also provides character and leadership development values that most Unitarian Universalists would agree with:
http://www.campfire.org/all_about_us/core_values.asp
The Camp Fire program has teen leadership councils at local, regional, and national levels called "YACs" (same acronym that UU churches use but slightly different -- "Youth Advisory Cabinet"). Camp Fire YACs use the same youth empowerment language that is used in YRUU leadership development materials.
Of course, we also have a youth leadership and character development model within Unitarian Universalism called "Young Religious Unitarian Universalists" (YRUU). However, YRUU is in danger of being voted out of existence by the mostly adult leadership on our UUA Board and district boards.
But this model does work in some settings -- the SW District has very robust youth camps that are run by youth leaders in partnership with adult advisors.
One big drawback to BSA alternatives like Camp Fire Kids and YRUU is convincing parents that these programs will be just as good for their kids as BSA programs. Everyone knows what "Eagle Scout" means on a resume or college application -- co-dean for a YRUU summer camp is harder to translate into simple terms that the college admissions office understands.
We also both belong to a UU congregation and have a son who is an Eagle scout. The conflict you mention is more at the national level than at the local level. In informal conversations, we've found the parents in the local troop, for the most part, do not share the bias that the national organization holds. Perhaps this is attributable to the funding BSA receives from the LDS church, at least that's what I've heard more than once. Whatever the source, there is a dissonance between the national organization's stance, and the day to day practices at the local level. Scouting does a fine job of turning boys into men, teaching them skills and confidence and social skills that help ensure their success in life. It is unfortunate that BSA takes this position, not recognizing the inherent worth and dignity and value of people from all walks of life and philosophies, and I hope it will change over time. But for us, we've found it possible to take the best (and give back the same) to the local troop, without the divisive issues becoming roadblocks. Someday BSA may realize that there is also a "Duty to Man" as well ....
Our son just earned his Eagle rank this year. He spent a total of almost 12 years in Scouts, and it had more to do with molding his character than any other one thing except his immediate family.
Our troop consists of 70-something families, the huge majority of whom do NOT agree with BSA's discriminatory policies. However, since atheism/agnosticism and/or GBLT issues have never even once been mentioned in our local troop over the 12 years we have been associated with them, I cannot see a downside to our involvement. Our son has benefited tremendously without being exposed even tangentially to the issues in question. As his parents, we have taught our children to accept people for what they are, and both of them are very accepting people. One of my older son's best friends is gay, and he has several friends who are either agnostics or atheists. Scouting has been a null factor in shaping his views of these issues.
Bottom line is, BSA has aligned itself with the LDS Church and is heavily dependent on that organization for financial support. Loss of that financial support would be devastating for the national organization, so they take the positions that are necessary to maintain that support. Right or wrong as that may be, it's fact.
I don't see life as black and white; it's very gray. We had to balance the benefit of scouting for our sons against admittedly objectionable policies that would never even remotely reach them at the individual scout level. We made the decision to take advantage of all scouting had to offer.
Coming from Canada, where our Scouting organization is very secular, I wasn't aware of the incestuousness between LDS and BSA until just recently.
I concur with Anonymous - we've never had a religious issue at the local level until recently, with the advent of a new Asst. Scoutmaster who is overtly evangelical. This is problematic to many of us on many levels. Our troop is comprised of more than a few UUs, which is nice.
Yet as much as I see how our BSA and UU values are at odds, the service values Scouting instills groom young men to be future social justice leaders.
And to be honest, every time my kids recite the pledge of allegiance to this 'one nation under God,' which happens a ton in both Scouting and school, I feel the same conflict and edginess, as though the performative utterance is but one grand lie.
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