Non-religious Scouts

[CalicoPenn]

We never seem to have discussions about what is meant by Duty to Country, or what is meant by being thrifty, or brave, or cheerful. It seems to me that folks are putting way too much emphasis on Duty to God and to reverent as if there is a wrong answer. We get so twisted in the discussions that we start to confuse faith with god. Buddhists and Taoists may not have a belief in a god but that doesn't mean they don't have faith. Yes, the BSA requests letters from religious leaders as part of the Eagle Scout application process but they also are pretty clear that a parent can be considered a Scout's religious leader.

 

 

So how should the OP deal with his situation? The same way everyone, imho, should deal with it. Don't ask questions that are specific to points of the Oath and Law. Instead of asking for an example of how a Scout is reverent, ask instead to give examples of how the Scout is living by the Scout Law. If he wants to cite reverent as an example, that's his choice, not your demand. If he never addresses reverent, that's his choice, not your demand. Instead of asking a Scout how he is doing his Duty to God, ask him how he is living the Scout Oath. Work with the adults in your Troop to make sure that the BORs aren't just filled up with "gotcha" questions, but are meaningful reviews for both the Scouts and the Troop - this is the opportunity for the committee to learn what is and isn't working, what the Scouts like and dislike. They should not be used as an opportunity to bash the Scouts because the answer he gave is "wrong" in someone else's perspective. Then work with the Scouts and parents as the Scout starts advancing towards Eagle to prepare them that other units handle BOR's much differently and some are far more adversarial than yours are and that at the Eagle BOR they may run into someone from one of those units who will try to hammer the Scout on a question about reverence or Duty to God but that you will have their back and will get them through the process.

 

The alternative, really, is to start treating all the other points of the Scout Law and Scout Oath with the same fervor that folks seem to use with reverence and Duty to God. If we were to do so, woe to the Scout who shows up for a BOR I'm part of in a truck with a confederate flag on it - I would be asking some very pointed questions about how flying the flag of a defeated enemy of the United States of America is showing a Duty to Country.

[st0ut717]

As to the original post. BSA has a link for Buddism within scouting. I think this will help any scouter.

 

http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/operating_orgs/Buddhist.aspx

 

As to myself and my son We follow a moral code much along the line of Zen Buddism. Ironically the teachings mirror the scout laws and oath almost exactly.

 

 

[reeddma]

I totally agree with CalicoPenn's post! One part of the Oath and Law should not be held to a higher level than any other. As the SM of a very large, and as happens multi-faith, Troop we do not put extra emphasis on the religious aspects of Scouting over the rest of program. We still participate in Scout Sunday with our chartering organization and include non-denominational prayers in our CoHs, and I talk about duty to God and reverent if brought up by the Scout during the scoutmaster conference. Adults leaders just need to accept that the BSA is not a religious organization over everything else. That's why my Methodist CO has a youth group.

[Rick_in_CA]

We never seem to have discussions about what is meant by Duty to Country' date=' or what is meant by being thrifty, or brave, or cheerful. It seems to me that folks are putting way too much emphasis on Duty to God and to reverent as if there is a wrong answer. We get so twisted in the discussions that we start to confuse faith with god.[/quote']

 

Part of this comes from the "culture wars". There are people in the BSA that "don't countenance the godless" and see it as part of their duty as scouters too keep the godless out. And many of them define "godless" as any religious belief that doesn't look like theirs (Buddhists don't believe in a creator? Sounds like atheism to me, no eagle for you!).

 

The BSA requires a "Belief in God", but leaves it entirely to the scout and his family to define what that means (see the Guide to Advancement). So the BSA agrees with CalicoPenn that there is no wrong answer to the god question.

 

The point being, if a scout is respectful of others and their religions and he himself operates out of some beneficial societal moral code, who are we to judge whether or not that "qualifies" as being a "correct" religion. If he's a Pantheist and sees "god" in all of nature and treats nature in a kind, loving way, why would we think he isn't doing his duty to god? Too many out there who seem to think that the spiritual aspects of a person's life has to be a specifically defined religion. That's not what being Reverent is all about.

 

...snip...

 

Being religious and being reverent are two different animals. Being religious/spiritual is for one's own benefit, being reverent is for other's benefit. Those that keep threads like this going on for page after page have a difficult time distinguishing between the two.

 

Stosh

I think Stosh has hit it right on the head. I agree completely.

 

[st0ut717]

OM ( insert deity here). I agree with stosh