ABC: Churches Cutting Ties To Scouts Over New Policy Accepting Gays

[stopbush]

Christianity - the make-believe based set of beliefs that allow one to be an overt bigot.

Some Churches Say They'll Cut Ties to Boy Scouts Following Its Lifting Ban on Gay Scouts

By CHRISTINA NG
May 29, 2013
A number of churches that previously sponsored Boy Scout troops have said they plan to sever ties to the organization following its decision to lift a longtime national ban on admitting openly gay Scouts. Openly gay adults will still be barred from leadership roles in the organization.

"I think I can say with pretty strong accuracy that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are very disappointed in the latest change in policy ... deeply disappointed," Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee, told ABCNews.com.

Page said that the Southern Baptist Convention -- the largest Protestant denomination in the United States -- would be holding its national meeting in two weeks, after which it would likely recommend that its 47,000 U.S. churches pull away from the Boy Scouts of America. From there, it is up to each individual church to decide what to do, said Page.

About 70 percent of all local Boy Scout troops are supported by religious groups, according to the Boy Scouts of America, and the Southern Baptist Convention currently sponsors "hundreds of troops, probably thousands," Page said.

"We don't hate people," said Page. "We don't hate anybody, but we just felt like there's got to be some objective standard, and we felt they were maintaining that until recently."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/churches-sever-ties-boy-scouts-lifted-ban-gay/story?id=19270860&.tsrc=attm#.UaY2zd1MDDo

Hey, Frank. Why not apply an "objective standard" to the belief in talking snakes and people coming back from the dead?

[SoCalDem]

1. Just as well..

Scouting should be a secular/open-to-everyone activity.

When I was a kid, we met at leaders' houses or at a rec center...never at a church.

I guess some parents along the way, ceded the groups to "church-folk"..

time for that to end..

[callous taoboy]

8. My first thought as well.

My scouting experience was sort of a mess. A troop would be organized, usually in a church, but regular attendance was not the norm. The troop would usually be dissolved within a year. I must've been in 4 or 5 troops before I felt that I was too old for scouting any more.

[hrmjustin]

2. Yes you do hate people Mr. Page!

[siligut]

3. The best thing that could happen to any secular group!!!!

Get the crazy out of camping, skills building and comradery.

[jmowreader]

19. The Boy Scouts are not a secular group

LThe Boy Scout oath starts, "On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country." It has always started that way.

The twelfth thing the Scout Law says a Scout is, is reverent.

Eight, nine and ten year old boys are Cub Scouts.(Some packs go down to seven, but the one I was in didn't.) The progression of rank in packs that start at 8 is Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and then there was a top award called the Order of the Arrow. Seven-year-olds work for the Bobcat rank. Anyway, to earn the Wolf and the Bear ranks there are 12 requirements, and number 11 is religion. A Wolf candidate must practice his religion as it is followed in his home; a Bear candidate has to step it up some...volunteer to be an altar server or whatever. Webelos was to get you ready to be a Boy Scout.

I know the popular view of the Scouts is it's all hiking and camping. It was never all hiking and camping. I have some slides my grandfather, who was a high poobah in Idaho scouting, took when he took his troop to the National Jamboree in Valley Forge.(He was also a high poobah with the Great Northern Railroad and convinced the company to donate round trip rail fare from Idaho to Pennsylvania through New York and Washington, DC, for fifty boys. They had ways for kids to earn their way to the trip through service projects and fundraisers.) There are some slides of the last night, and on the stage is this huge, overtly Christian, backdrop.

With some exceptions - like sheriff's departments - the Boy Scouts is and always has been a church youth group. It's also becoming less of a factor than it once was; churches are moving toward Awana or Upward because those allow both boys and girls to join...making scheduling easier and reducing the number of parents you need to recruit as volunteers.

I think if I had a kid I'd steer him toward the Young Marines...all the outdoorsy stuff and patriotism without as much fundamentalist dogma. He or she would have to guarantee me that he or she would never ever ever even dream of actually joining the Marine Corps.

[siligut]

20. Thank you, I didn't know

My family was never religious, but my brother was a Boy Scout, so I just figured.

[siligut]

4. According to Wiki it is the Mormons and the Methodists who tried to take over the Scouts

I don't know about the Methodists, but this gayphobia is definitely a Mormon thing.

[Brother Buzz]

6. Interesting, Mormons are on board with the gay scout thing

Mormon Church leaders are circulating a letter to all local congregations instructing them to abide by the new scouting policy.

"Sexual orientation has not previously been – and is not now – a disqualifying factor for boys who want to join Latter-day Saint Scout troops," said a statement posted to the church's website. "Willingness to abide by standards of behavior continues to be our compelling interest."

[siligut]

7. This may offer hope to gay Mormons

I am not at all trustful of Mormon leadership, but for gay people who have been raised in the church and are true believers, this may offer hope.

[backscatter712]

5. Suits me just fine.

Kids shouldn't be under the influence of such hateful churches.

[Marr]

9. It's like a smaller version of the Democrats losing the racists.

Smaller and smaller puddles of these people, drying out in the sun.

[LadyHawkAZ]

10. Bonus! n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

24. +1. Good riddance to the homophobic churches.

And I hope a lot of scouts' parents bid those churches goodbye.

Tithe my ass!

[closeupready]

11. Yes, because Jesus HATED gay people.

Bigotry is as bigotry does, not as bigotry says.

[hobbit709]

12. Way back when I wanted to get into the Cub Scouts

they wouldn't let me join because I didn't go to church.

Since then, I' never cared much about them.

[zipplewrath]

13. My troop was in a church

To this day I don't remember what demonination. Not sure I ever took much note. Never saw a single leader from the church. It was mostly a place to meet and store our stuff. I suspect we met there because one of the leaders was a church member. "Sponsor" is an interesting expression, although I'm sure that would be a nice thing, especially for any lower economic kids, we paid all the time for everything we had and did. We also sold a boat load of Christmas decorations as fund raisers. I was never made aware of any church based funding, and I was ultimately Junior Assistant Scout Master at one point. Those meetings just took place at the Scout Masters home.

[geek tragedy]

14. Bigots. nt

[Arugula Latte]

15. Religion -- the main force of regression, repression and ignorance in the USA.

[jmowreader]

16. Frank Page is very wrong about Baptists not hating people

The two most openly hateful groups in the United States are the SBC and the Pentecostals.

[byeya]

17. The SBC was formed in 1845 expressly to defend and promote slavery. The SBC has been on

what I consider the wrong side of every social issue to come down the pike. I believe the KKK is the terrorist wing of the SBC and that's an unstated reason Jimmy Carter left them.

[indepat]

18. And to think I grew up a Baptist not knowing this despicable history. What a

brain-washed fool I had been before thankfully seeing the light before reaching legal age.

[byeya]

29. It's a credit to you to have seen the organization for what it was. Kids are susceptible to acceptin

a diet of half-truths and lies and it's hard to over come.

We kids used to joke about which Priests and Brothers to avoid being caught alone with. See, as kids, this was a fact of life and it didn't occur to us that crimes were being committed.

I was lucky in that I liked bowling and baseball more than catychism class so I was never a good RCer.

I think some DUers will recognize themselves by your post.

[Rob H.]

22. There's a local SBC megachurch that banned a softball team

from playing in their league in 2010 because the team's coach is a lesbian. The lead pastor--who had protected the identity* of one of his ministers who had molested his own son--then had the nerve to say, "You have to have certain standards for leadership." Hypocritical assholes, one and all.

*He was told what had happened and failed to report what he found out to the police, which is illegal. He was never charged and the molesting minister is now a Trustee at another Southern Baptist church. (At least he was as of 2011.)

[Zoeisright]

21. The churches are outing themselves

as disgusting bigots. I'd like to see a list so I know who to boycott.

And yes, Page, you DO hate. In fact, that's ALL you do, you asshole prick.

[Ilsa]

23. If some churches get smaller by offending more people,

then fewer folks will be listening to the rightwing preachers spew their political bs from the pulpit.

Liberal churches will remain the same or increase their BSA commitments.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

25. Good. We don't need religion to sully the Boy Scouts. Religion should have nothing to do with

this secular organization!!

[gcomeau]

26. Good.

One more step towards further marginalizing themselves, and everyone better off for it in the long run.

[Major Nikon]

27. So much for 'love the sinner, hate the sin'

[Nika]

28. This is pretty much what I expected to see.

One door closes, two more open up. The BSA will survive and thrive in spite of this.

[Rex]

30. But you DO hate people! Ever heard of discrimination Frank?

NP. You will just end up in Hell along with thousands of your fellow followers. Don't be surprised when Jesus rejects you Frank! It is just his way of being 'objective'.

[madrchsod]

31. good idea...keep the church out of boy scouts.

[SummerSnow]

32. Wow...

They do nothing when Catholic Priest rape little boys though.