Religious Emblem

[mjengels]

Does anyone have a book that they don't need anymore. I would like to look at it to see what is involved.

 

Thanks

[Greg Nelson]

Well, that depends on which emblem you're trying to have your boys earn.

 

Most denominations have a single award for all Cubs. There are Catholic and Jewish emblems (and maybe some others) designed specifically for younger Cubs. The more common denominations (esp. Catholic) have workbooks available at Scout Shops. For the others, you'd probably have to special order it.

 

All of these involve a non-trivial amount of effort, probably akin to earning two or three Academics pins.

 

In my pack, most boys earn the award through classes offered by their church. I haven't known of a boy just doing it on his own with his parents, although it could be done.

 

As to your original question - by doing an Internet search for "cub scout religious award" + , you'd probably find the needed requirements.

[kittle]

Some programs allow the parents to be counselor and others require that it be a clergy. Check out www.praypub.org This is a really helpful website.

[ScoutNut]

Each religious emblem has different requirements based on the religious denomination & the age of the boy.

 

As a general rule of thumb I would say that most take at least 2 months of work to complete. Also, even if the emblem of your religious institution allows parents to be the counselors, most also require that one of their clergy review & sign off on the work. There is usually a back page that must be signed & sent in to be able to purchase the emblem.

 

Check out the link to Pray Pub posted by kittle. You can find out what your particular emblem would be at their site & then visit your Scout Shop to look at the booklet. I do not believe they are shrink wrapped.

 

PLEASE NOTE - These are NOT Boy Scouts of America awards. These awards are created & overseen by the individual religious institutions. The BSA simply allows them to be worn on their official uniform. The purpose of the religious emblems are to bring youth to a greater understanding of, & to grow in, their own faith.

 

 

[Cubmaster Mike]

on the contrary ScoutNut,

 

Religious medal programs are developed by the different faiths. Even if the Scouts do not sign off on the completion, the Scouts have reviewed and approved the program and award requirements. And the religious knot is a an official Scout insignia and sold through the Scout Supply Division. But hey, toMAYto, toMAHto.

 

And in support of what SN also said, religious awards are worked on in the family, not in the den. It is a means of developing one's personal faith. I know that the Tiger/Wolf award for Roman Catholic (Light of Christ) is done at home and then reviewed by a priest. It's not a herculean effort, but it will take more than a couple of afternoons.

 

www.praypub.org is mainly for United Churches of Christ links. Here is a link to the National Scout site on religious awards that may help.

 

http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=xx&c=ds&terms=religious+award&x=37&y=12

[ScoutNut]

Sorry Cubmaster Mike, I stand by what I said. The various different Religious Emblems are NOT BSA awards. They are the awards of the various different religious organizations that the BSA ALLOWS to be worn on their uniform.

 

The BSA has approved the wearing of SOME of the Religious Emblems that are out there available to be earned. The Emblem programs that they have approved are listed on the National BSA site -

 

http://www.scouting.org/awards/religious/index.html

 

The BSA Religious Award square knot is worn on the uniform to reflect the fact that a Religious Award has been earned. It is NOT, however, the same as the Religious Emblem (which is usually a medal) itself. The Emblem medal itself can usually only be purchased thru the religious organization or a religious company such as PRAY Publishing. Although, some councils have made arrangements to handle the purchase of some of the Emblems thru them, it is usually more trouble than it is worth (for the council & the buyer) & easier to buy them direct.

 

The Religious Emblems should also be awarded to the boys by the religious organization itself in their own ceremony. This is usually done on (or around) Scout Sunday / Sabbath.

 

The BSA square knot should be awarded to the boys at the Pack meeting directly after they have finished earning their Religious Emblem. Only one square knot can be worn, no matter how many Emblems are earned. However, most Scout Shops carry "knot devices" which are mini pins that are worn on the knot to represent the level (Cub, WEBELOS, Boy Scout) the Scout was at when he earned a Religious Award.

 

 

[hendrickms24]

ScoutNut is 100% correct! My son is working on the Roman Catholic "Light of Christ" Medal and he is doing just a few requirements at a time. He told me its hard work but it helping me teach him ways that I would never have thought.

 

Mark Maranto

 

[theysawyoucomin']

My son and I completed the "God and me" workbook together after speaking to our Methodist pastor.

 

The best part of the program was my son and I discussed our faith with an intensity that would not have happened without the course. I'm not the greatest presenter of ideas to my children and it would not have worked if I said, "Comm'ere son let's talk about God".

After completing the work we sat down with our Pastor (boy wore his uniform) and showed him the games we made, discussed the topics and bible passages. Pastor signed off and we got the medal from P.R.A.Y.

We are talking about doing the same for 5th grade.

Don't forget to get the parents guide and work it along with your son. Telling your child your beliefs strengthens his beliefs.

 

The workbooks are age appropriate. Our council store carries "major" faiths.

Good luck, it is a worthwile program. Many boys ask my son about the knot and a couple have taken up the challenge. As somebody here said, it is somewhat involved but certainly not impossible.

[LovetoCamp]

My boy's Den just finished the God and Me program using the Protestant manuals. They are having a special awards ceremony during Sunday service in two weeks. The Pastor will award the medallion to the boys and at the same time award their Bobcat, which he also helped them complete. The Pastor has a lots of that Scout gene in him. The program took just under two months to finish. There is a different program for Grades 1-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12. We're looking forward to working on all four of them. Well worth the time and effort.

[Torveaux]

The Light of Christ (Roman Catholic) award requirements mesh fairly closely to the 1st Reconcilliation/1st Communion education conducted by most parishes. The award booklet becomes a sort of supplement that reinforces the information taught in the classes.

[fgoodwin]

mjengles, we've kinda gotten away from your original question.

 

As GN (and others have) said, the requirements vary by faith, so its not clear that someone handing you a used workbook will really do you any good.

 

If all you want is to peruse the requirements to give you an idea before you start, go down to your local Scout Shop. Most carry the general Protestant manuals published by PRAY.

 

Most carry the Catholic workbooks also, and some probably have the Jewish workbooks (I'm told those are free, but you may have to ask for them if they're kept under the counter).

 

There's no charge to look at them!

 

One of the reasons these aren't available online (as is the case with MB requirements, belt loop requirements, and others) is that, at least for the PRAY workbooks, there is no single page that acts as a checklist or summary of the requirements. The manuals truly are "workbooks" and some work must be done on virtually every page.

 

Good luck!

 

Fred Goodwin

National Episcopal Scouters Association

Protestant Committee on Scouting (Alamo Area Council)