Religous Emblems

[FirstClass]

Hello there, I'm not quite sure where to post this question so I'll post it here for now.

I'll keep my question short as to quicken reading time. What does a scout do if they convert to a different faith? Say they earned the award as a Christian but they now practice Buddhism; do they need to do the program over again or can they simply switch the pin to the one corresponding faith they now follow?

[MattR]

Welcome to the forum, @FirstClass .

As each religious organization creates their own requirements my guess is the scout can either keep wearing the old award, or not. And if they want the new one then they'll have to earn it first.

[SSScout]

What Matt said.   

True story:   At the local University of Scouting one year, I ran across a Scout who wore four medals : I recognized his Eagle, the  God and Country, the Ner Tamid, and the Ad Altare Dei...   These were the Methodist Church,  Jewish and Catholic awards, respectably.  As we ate lunch, I said, "you  know, I have to ask how you come to wear those three religious awards.?"   He said that his mom was Jewish, his dad Catholic and his Troop was sponsored by a Methodist Church. He said that when he asked about earning the awards, his father's priest, his mom's  rabbi and the minister at the Troop 's sponsor didn't  seem to mind the rest of his family arrangements.....  

Refer them to : http://www.scoutingbsa.org/programs/awards/religious_emblems/Religious_Emblem_Information.html 

Edited February 7, 2023 by SSScout

[qwazse]

@FirstClass, welcome to the forums!

As you can tell, scouters have no stomach for playing identity politics with religious awards. Having made the effort, a scout should proudly wear the awards for each faith he held at the time.

[mrjohns2]

4 hours ago, FirstClass said:

they need to do the program over again or can they simply switch the pin

They can still wear the know for the award they earned. You say “switch the pin”. What do you mean? They could work on the new award, if they wished, or not, if they wished. 

[InquisitiveScouter]

What does a Scout do [with a previous award] if they convert to another faith?

- The Scout may continue wearing the "previous" award at her discretion.

Do they need to do the program over again or can they simply switch the pin to the one corresponding faith they now follow?

- The "program" is different for each faith.  That is, the requirements for a religious award for each faith are different and often have different levels based on age/grade.  If the Scout wishes to earn the award for her new faith, she must complete its requirements (from scratch, so to speak).

- A Scout may not earn an award in one faith and then wear the 'equivalent' award from another faith, as the requirements for each award are different.  That is, having a religious award from one faith does not grant you the "analogous" religious award in another faith.

As stated above, the specific religious awards are not BSA awards.  BSA recognizes the accomplishment when a youth completes the award requirements sponsored by a specific faith.

A recognition of the accomplishment comes in two forms:

1.  A medal (or some other recognition) is awarded by an organization sponsoring the award of that particular faith.  BSA does not procure nor award these "medals"  You must get them from the specific organization/faith to be presented at a ceremony of the Scout's choice.  You can find a list of contacts for those organizations here

https://www.scouting.org/awards/religious-awards/chart/

Many of those awards have links you can follow to view the requirements.  Some even have a downloadable workbook.  YMMV.

2.  Once a Scout earns the particular award, then she is entitled to wear a knot on her uniform signifying the accomplishment (wearing the medal previously awarded might be kinda clunky on the shirt)  The knot for youth is this

https://www.scoutshop.org/youth-religious-award-knot-5007.html

And multiple levels of the award are recognized by device pins, corresponding to the program of Scouting during which the award was earned.  Here is the Scouts, BSA device:

https://www.scoutshop.org/boy-scout-pin-device-927.html

and these are BSA items

 

 

Here is some more info explaining the program...

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/11/13/scouts-guide-earning-religious-emblem/

And you can find out how to wear them in the Guide to Awards and Insignia

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Religious_Emblems_WEB.pdf

Finally, any youth/adult may earn these awards.  They do not have to be Scouts.  To wear the BSA knot and devices, you must be a Scout/Scouter.

 

Hope this answers your questions.

Edited February 7, 2023 by InquisitiveScouter

[RememberSchiff]

Of recent note and somewhat related.

"A group of Boy Scouts received special Four Chaplains patches after completing an educational program designed by St. Stephen’s Boy Scout Unit 305 (Kearny, NJ) in honor of the 80th anniversary....

The Four Chaplains — Father John P. Washington, a Catholic priest; Rev. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Rabbi Alexander D. Goode; and Rev. Clark V. Poling, a Reformed Church in America minister — gave their life jackets to save others when their ship was torpedoed in the frigid North Atlantic in 1943.

Washington, Fox, Goode, and Poling, all first lieutenants, met in 1942, having been inspired to sign up as military chaplains after Pearl Harbor. Their vessel, the Dorchester, a troop ship bound for a U.S. military base in Greenland, was struck by a U-boat torpedo in the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 1943. Washington had celebrated Mass just hours before the hit and began to offer absolution.

The chaplains calmly assisted and encouraged numerous civilians and soldiers, offering them their own life jackets as the terrified crowd sped to the lifeboats."

“When giving their life jackets, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew; Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic; nor did the Reverends Fox and Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to the next man in line,” a history from the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation noted.

More at source:

https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2023/02/06/the-four-chaplains-selfless-heroes-of-wwii-honored-on-80th-anniversary-of-their-deaths/

[Protoclete]

I'd just echo what a couple have said. Once they earn one award, they have earned that award and can keep wearing it even if they convert to a new denomination or religion. They can then earn the award(s) offered by the new religious org and have two or more religious emblems. 

Also, some of the emblems are open to be earned by scouts of any faith, while others require you be an initiated and/or practicing member when you earn it - but nobody "revokes" an emblem if the person leaves that faith. 

And it sounds like this scout would be in a prime position to consider the interreligious dialogue badge or dialogue for peace program, too. 

[scoutldr]

Let's not lose sight of the fact that the Religious Awards are NOT BSA awards.  ANY young person can earn them.  The Awards should be earned by the Scout within the environment of his/her family and faith leader, and should NOT be a part of the Scouting program, as I have seen some units do.  Scouting is, and should remain, a non-denominational activity.  BSA allows the medals and square knot to be worn on the uniform, and that should be the extent of the Unit/Council's involvement.