How many religious discussions actually happen?

[Rick_in_CA]

Almost never. When I read most of these threads I consider three possibilities: that my troop exists in a Leave-it-to-Beaver parallel plane' date=' that your troops exist in a Twilight Zone, or that there are a lot of lies or exaggerations going around here.[/quote']

 

Really? Since you haven't experienced anything like this, everyone that is reporting that they have must be lying? Is that what you intended to say? Way to show respect for your fellow scouters.

Then I apologize (I'm breathing, I'm breathing...). Sometimes irony doesn't translate well on the internet (as I myself have discovered).

[AZOwl]

Seeing as how I am from AZ, and right in the middle of the Mormon Corridor, you'd think that religion would come up a lot. But really, it doesn't. Our Pack and Troop is wildly diverse, from very conservative Christians, to a Jewish family, to bordering on pagan or shamanic traditions...And we embrace that diversity.

 

When I went to Woodbadge, they pounded diversity into us (and this was a 95% LDS staff)...And when I was on staff, with a different 95% mostly LDS staff, I never 'prayed' so much in my life. But that was ok, because it made me expand my own thoughts on religion.

 

In practical terms, as far as rank advancement and the religious requirements, we intentionally leave it to the parents to complete with their children, and just ask them to report back when they have completed that requirement. We might open with a nice generic prayer, but we intentionally keep it generic.

 

For boards of review, we might talk about reverence and duty to God, but its always in the context of the boy's own beliefs, and how reverence pertains not only to their own faith, but to the faiths of others as well.

 

Do the boys talk about their religious beliefs? I don't think I've ever overheard a conversation like that. Doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, but I've just never heard one that goes for more than a couple of minutes.

[Scouter99]

Almost never. When I read most of these threads I consider three possibilities: that my troop exists in a Leave-it-to-Beaver parallel plane' date=' that your troops exist in a Twilight Zone, or that there are a lot of lies or exaggerations going around here.[/quote']

 

Really? Since you haven't experienced anything like this, everyone that is reporting that they have must be lying? Is that what you intended to say? Way to show respect for your fellow scouters.

Yeah, we're victims of our panache

[packsaddle]

Almost never. When I read most of these threads I consider three possibilities: that my troop exists in a Leave-it-to-Beaver parallel plane' date=' that your troops exist in a Twilight Zone, or that there are a lot of lies or exaggerations going around here.[/quote']

 

Really? Since you haven't experienced anything like this, everyone that is reporting that they have must be lying? Is that what you intended to say? Way to show respect for your fellow scouters.

Oh Morticia, you spoke French!

[Khaliela]

But the unit was Chartered by the Knights of Columbus and the only recruited through the Catholic School' date=' so they assumed everyone was Catholic. All the kids were required to take the religion class and attend weekly Mass, so requiring Religious Emblems as part of the units activities was not a far stretch.[/quote']

 

 

 

When I hear about units like this, my only hope is that there is another troop in the same town (or other such area) that has a "come one come all" attitude. While it is true that there are parents who will drive for miles at a time to take their sons to an out-of-the-way troop that fits their units, there are others who won't. I'd hate to see the Hindu or Muslim or Jewish or Wiccan or whatever kids miss out because the only "convenient" troop is closely tied into a religious institution of which they are not a member. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a "Catholic troop" or a "Jewish troop" (they do exist in this part of the country) or an "LDS troop" (they also exist in this part of the country, there are 2 I know of in New Jersey), but I'd like to see an Everybody-Else Troop next door as well.

Around here we have troops coming out our ears. Our district has a population of about 97,000 people spread over two counties. The town I live in has a population of 791 people and still manages to support 3 troops. The LDS are pretty much "LDS only," just like the Catholic one is "Catholic only," the third is a "generic protestant,". The Protestant boys meet 1/2 the year at the Lutheran Church and 1/2 the year at the Presbyterian Church. I drive my son to another town for scouts and have joined a Methodist Troop, which insidently is the catch all troop because there are only 2 Methodist boys in the troop.

[Khaliela]

Seeing as how I am from AZ, and right in the middle of the Mormon Corridor, you'd think that religion would come up a lot. But really, it doesn't. Our Pack and Troop is wildly diverse, from very conservative Christians, to a Jewish family, to bordering on pagan or shamanic traditions...And we embrace that diversity.

 

When I went to Woodbadge, they pounded diversity into us (and this was a 95% LDS staff)...And when I was on staff, with a different 95% mostly LDS staff, I never 'prayed' so much in my life. But that was ok, because it made me expand my own thoughts on religion.

 

In practical terms, as far as rank advancement and the religious requirements, we intentionally leave it to the parents to complete with their children, and just ask them to report back when they have completed that requirement. We might open with a nice generic prayer, but we intentionally keep it generic.

 

For boards of review, we might talk about reverence and duty to God, but its always in the context of the boy's own beliefs, and how reverence pertains not only to their own faith, but to the faiths of others as well.

 

Do the boys talk about their religious beliefs? I don't think I've ever overheard a conversation like that. Doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, but I've just never heard one that goes for more than a couple of minutes.

When I went to Wood Badge they pushed diversity too, but what they called diversity had nothing to do with different religions (or different cultures, or even different colors). They spent two days talking about generations in scouting. When my son and I go fishing that's not diversity even though each of us represent a different generation.