Finally, some good news. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/01/30/boy-scouts-of-america-to-accept-transgender-children-who-identify-as-boys/
Yes. Sadly I felt that we couldn’t let our kids join an organization that wouldn’t allow their friends to join. None of their friends was transgender, but there were multiple sets of parents that were single sex. We just couldn’t see joining the scouts until the children of those families felt just as welcome as ours.
So this is good news, From my perspective.
Many years ago I asked a gay friend his thoughts on my having my son in Boy Scouts. He suggested that we could help the organization progress by staying involved and making our views known. I’m glad the Boy Scouts have made such significant strides in recent years. It’s taken time but I’m glad we stuck with it.
Good to hear!
Instead of scouts, we did do a lot of ymca camps. They were very accepting. It’s great that scouting is coming along finally.
Hurrah!!
About time.
FINALLY!! It’s about time…and it’s about time we had some news like this too!
It was definitely a welcome piece of news today.
Why not just have Scouts and let anyone join who wants to?
They accept transgender children who identify as male. Good news. But do they accept male children that identify as gay?
@morrismm I believe they do now.
My husband was an Eagle Scout and before we got married I told him that I wouldn’t let our kids lie like he did and pretend not to be atheists. He agreed but was sad. As it turned out we only had girls so no issue. But it’s hard to believe they’ll let transgender boys join ( which I think is awesome) but not boys who are atheists.
Yes, as of 2013.
They also now accept gay leaders.
There actually is a version of scouting that accepts all genders - it is the Venturing branch of Boy Scouts. You need to be 14 to be eligible. I know of several girls who joined Venturing crews as they felt Girl Scouts did not offer enough challenge once they reached high school. There have been all-female as well as integrated Venturing crews that have participated in high-impact Boy Scout experiences such as Philmont treks.
The religion issue is a bit more challenging. Duty to God is a fundamental tenet in Boy Scouts, so not being able to fulfill that commitment means you cannot meet the guidelines as laid out in the organization’s charter. They do accept the concept of duty to a higher power, where it is up to the individual to define what that higher power is, but that still is not acceptable to many atheists.
Glad to see they are being inclusive. Any word on whether boys identifying as a girl would be allowed into the girl scout program? It would seem only logical that boys would be allowed the same opportunities. Would be unfair to single out boys.
@massdad68:
I believe the Girl Scouts have been allowing transgender girls into the program, in general the Girl Scouts don’t have all the baggage the Boy Scouts have, they as far as I know also didn’t have the blanket ban on gay girls and such either, and I don’t think they have the religious belief requirement.
"The religion issue is a bit more challenging. Duty to God is a fundamental tenet in Boy Scouts, so not being able to fulfill that commitment means you cannot meet the guidelines as laid out in the organization’s charter. "
That is something I never understood, the boy scouts as created in the UK did not have this requirement, it. The Boy Scouts were not created to be a religious group per se, they were created to give young boys and young men challenges to become better people, to learn new skills and feel an obligation to others. Having seen the Boy Scouts over the years and watching as a friend of mine’s son goes through it, that requirement is an anachronism, even back in the dark ages when I was a kid the belief aspect wasn’t mentioned at all, it played no role in what the kids went through, and today even less (my friend’s local scout group does a lot of camping, and things like going to a shooting range…). The idea that to be a good citizen requires belief in God is more than a bit offensive in this day and age and to me it is something they may want to re-evaluate.
If you read the teachings of Lord Baden-Powell, duty to God was very important to him and very important to teach to boys along with the physical aspects of scouting. Recognizing a higher power is part of the concept of servant leadership. How much this is adhered to can vary with troop leadership, and maybe this is outdated today, but his belief in God was a fundamental part of who Baden-Powell was and was part of what he felt was essential to developing character.
No, the Boy Scouts were not created as a religious group per se, however the man who created the organization felt belief in God was an essential part of building character. Baden-Powell’s last letter to Scouts included the following:
I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have a happy life too. I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness does not come from being rich, nor merely being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man. Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one. But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. ‘Be Prepared’ in this way, to live happy and to die happy — stick to your Scout Promise always — even after you have ceased to be a boy — and God help you to do it
I stand corrected, the UK scouts used to require belief. For many decades it was the Christian God, they modified their oaths later to allow Muslims and Hindus and Jews to use something more comfortable to themselves, in recent years they allow religious kids to use a religious oath, but atheists can now join, too. My citing on the UK scouts was based on something I was told, should have checked that.
That said, saying religion is key to the scouts is kind of ridiculous to me, given that scouting as it is carried out is about as secular as you can get, most of their activities are things like camping, doing projects and learning things, and also Baden Powell was typical of many religious people back then, or since, convinced that to be a good person one had to believe in God, which in the early 20th century might have seemed obvious, in a world 100 years later it makes no sense, given that plenty of people of no faith have proven themselves to be honorable, heroic people while a lot of people who professed themselves true believers turned out to have feet of clay. Not to mention that when Powell was running around probably 80-90% of people actually went to church, in England it is a small fraction of that, same in the US.
@musicprnt Thanks. As a farther of boys, I am not as familiar with the Girl Scout organization. Glad to hear they are being inclusive.