Boy Scouts may revise their national policy regarding inclusion of gays

[Momof3littles]

http://www.scouting....shipPolicy.aspx

 

We have not been involved with scouts to this point because we disagree with their stance on gay individuals.

 

If you are involved with scouting, don't troops interact? It sounds like if they do make changes, the policy on inclusion of gay chidlrenand leaders will be up to the individual troop? I am wondering how that would play out at events where there are multiple troops. Isn't that going to be an issue for troops that are religiously or morally opposed to including gays?

 

I'm just wondering how this would actually work in reality. Maybe I don't fully understand how scouting works. It seems like troops interact with one another, and I can't imagine that being accepted by those who have not wanted gays included to this point.

[QueenCat]

From what I understand, and have been expecting to happen, individual troops will decide whether or not to allow homosexual leaders/scouts. At events with multiple troops, the other troops would not have a say in who could be there from different troops. Not sure how they would "know" anyhow...

[Momof3littles]

Thanks for the info. That is helpful and encouraging. I guess I am still sympathetic to openly gay individuals wanting to be involved, but living in an area where the troops do not allow gay individuals to participate. It seems like in certain regions, a gay kid realistically might not have any options.

[QueenCat]

Thanks for the info. That is helpful and encouraging. I guess I am still sympathetic to openly gay individuals wanting to be involved, but living in an area where the troops do not allow gay individuals to participate. It seems like in certain regions, a gay kid realistically might not have any options.

 

Right now, the individual troops can't allow it. If this goes through, they would have a choice.

[Unicorn.]

I noticed it didn't say it was going to change it to say they don't discriminate on the basis of... So basically they are going to let the local charters catch the flack for not allowing gay boys/leaders. That way they look like the good guys and don't have to worry about the lawsuits. At least it's a step in the right direction. Now, if we could just get them to allow girls..... :D

[Momof3littles]

I agree, at face value I was pretty excited, but I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I also realize it hasn't been officially decided yet either.

 

For my family, we consider inclusion of gay children and leaders a civil rights issue. And as such, I am not sure I am feeling particularly comforted by this.

[Momof3littles]

deleted double post

[Joshin]

We are active in scouting and we are also active supporters of Scouting for All, so this is good news. The individual packs and troops have been staging a major campaign lately to put pressure on national to allow the decision to lie with individual charters. We consider our unit all-inclusive and pretty much ignore some of the discrimination at national level, and I know we aren't the only ones. The next change if this one goes through to push is opening up packs, troops and crews to allow Atheist membership. Technically, my family is Atheist, although we fall under the Buddhism loophole (Buddhism is an "allowed" religion in BSA, even though many American Buddhists are also Atheist).

 

The reason why they can't force non-discrimination on all units is because churches charter, or own, the units and treat them as a church youth group. Some churches do not allow openly gay members of their congregation, let alone in their youth groups. There are plenty of us that eschew church charters or charter with non-discriminating churches to avoid religion and discrimination issues, and we are the units that this change will affect in a positive way.

[DawnM]

Our troop would carry on as they are: A Homeschool Christian troop. We do interact with other troops and 99% of them are NOT Homeschool or specifically Christian. I think you get along just like you would in everyday society: there are people different than we are and we treat them with respect even if we don't agree with them.

[LucyStoner]

While we have conflicted feelings about BSA, our son has been a cub scout for 4 years now. We disagree with their policy on homosexuality and will welcome this change of policy even at the local level. Ultimately, I believe the policy is on its way out in time. At our troop, most people vocally disagree with the policy and it is roundly ignored, everyone expects it to change. We nearly refused to allow him to join but ultimately decided that when your extremely socially awkward child actually WANTS a particular social activity you just need to run with it and we found no active alternative in our area which offered the same sorts of things or interested my son in the least. He wanted to be a scout. We knew that in our immediate area we would be fairly unlikely run into a fracas over this and we could (did) discuss the policy and state why we disagree. There are some same sex couple families associated with scouts here. It's not ideal for us to belong when the policy is contrary to our beliefs, but in the hubbub of skits and achievements and pinewood derby finals, it's not like discussing gays in a negative way is part of the activities. We also decided that our son is capable of having his own opinions and keeping them even if others around him thought differently. He has gay uncles and cousins with two dads and that makes a bigger impression than 2x a month meetings. I am not sure of the particulars of this proposed change, but for our family any step away from their current policy is a step in the right direction.

 

I wonder if there will be a male counterpart to AHG now or later on.

[LucyStoner]

2x post

[LucyStoner]

 

Right now, the individual troops can't allow it. If this goes through, they would have a choice.

 

In practice though, many do not enforce the policy informally by their own choice. If BSA were able to enforce it and really opted to climb down people's throats over it, I can't even count as high as the number of members they would lose in many cities. If a troop leader was doing anything other than ignoring the discrimination policy, we'd leave that pack and find one more our speed. If there was none, then we would not be going anymore.

[Mrs Mungo]

Our troop would carry on as they are: A Homeschool Christian troop. We do interact with other troops and 99% of them are NOT Homeschool or specifically Christian. I think you get along just like you would in everyday society: there are people different than we are and we treat them with respect even if we don't agree with them.

 

Agreed, this is what I would expect.

[Joanne]

The proposed change falls far short, but I suppose it is a small step in the right direction. This is an organization that claims a "values based" orientation. Simultaneously, they exclude people based on sexual orientation and implicitly reinforce the terror and bullying that sexual minorities are subject to (at a substantially higher rate than non sexual minorities).

[QueenCat]

This will potentially destroy Scouts as we know it. In our Council (just east of UT), more that one-third of units are chartered by the LDS Church (and a large number of the rest are Catholic). No way are they going to open units to this. I think we'll see the LDS pull out, with the Catholics close behind. We already have a parallel organizational structure with LDS and non-LDS units.

 

Why? They would not be required to accept gay members, their choice.

[Χά�ων]

Hmmm. I am against boy scouts for many reasons but a friend of mine with a son DS age is very active and has invited us to several events and the troop is a good fit.

[DawnM]

I don't see terror or bullying. I see an organization that has taken a stand on one particular issue.

 

Values based is ALWAYS subject to WHOSE values we are discussing. This can go for the unborn, the homosexuals, or any other "hot button issue" group.

 

Dawn

 

The proposed change falls far short, but I suppose it is a small step in the right direction. This is an organization that claims a "values based" orientation. Simultaneously, they exclude people based on sexual orientation and implicitly reinforce the terror and bullying that sexual minorities are subject to (at a substantially higher rate than non sexual minorities).

[DawnM]

My guess is that it would be because allowing gays into scouting would mean that your support/money/efforts would still include allowing them into the organization, but that is just a guess on my part. I am not LDS.

 

 

Why? They would not be required to accept gay members, their choice.

[Joanne]

I don't see terror or bullying. I see an organization that has taken a stand on one particular issue.

 

Values based is ALWAYS subject to WHOSE values we are discussing. This can go for the unborn, the homosexuals, or any other "hot button issue" group.

 

Dawn

 

The terror and bullying of sexual minorities is a documented reality.

 

Excluding them is on the same continuum; just on a different place.

 

To *me*, it is ridiculous. It is no different than excluding people with blonde curly hair, heterosexuals, right handed people....

[DawnM]

Well, I don't agree, but you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

 

The terror and bullying of sexual minorities is a documented reality.

 

Excluding them is on the same continuum; just on a different place.

 

To *me*, it is ridiculous. It is no different than excluding people with blonde curly hair, heterosexuals, right handed people....

[bettyandbob]

This will potentially destroy Scouts as we know it. In our Council (just east of UT), more that one-third of units are chartered by the LDS Church (and a large number of the rest are Catholic). No way are they going to open units to this. I think we'll see the LDS pull out, with the Catholics close behind. We already have a parallel organizational structure with LDS and non-LDS units.

 

I think this is why BSA has said that if it goes through the individual groups would make a decision for their units. I'm not sure it would destroy Boy Scouts. There are many Catholic churches that sponsor Girl Scout troops and the Girl Scout stance is the exact opposite. I suspect an openly gay individual would not seek to be involved in a troop that was sponsored by an LDS or Catholic church. There are plenty of troops. My guess is there will be some that form and many that grow larger because of this. I know quite a few families who refuse to allow their sons to participate because of the ban.

 

Many troops are sponsored by schools, both public and nonreligious private. My dd was in girl scout troop for a couple years that was sponsored by a public school, but less than 1/3 attended that school -- there were many from other schools and a few homeschoolers.

[Joshin]

This will potentially destroy Scouts as we know it. In our Council (just east of UT), more that one-third of units are chartered by the LDS Church (and a large number of the rest are Catholic). No way are they going to open units to this. I think we'll see the LDS pull out, with the Catholics close behind. We already have a parallel organizational structure with LDS and non-LDS units.

 

 

LDS units already follow their own flavor of scouting, which is different than traditional scouting and has been pretty much from its inception. I doubt this would change anything with how LDS or Catholic troops are run. Further, why are LDS allowed to change things to fit their beliefs but God Forbid any other unit do the same thing? This is an egotistical and elitist view that puts down every other scout out there. The values espoused in traditional scouting materials are based upon general morals held by just about every decent human being in the world, and not just religious values. The "God" references are few unless a unit chooses to focus upon them.

 

One religion's morals are supposedly not above another religion's in scouting, and not all religions view homosexuality as immoral. The BSA has gone to great lengths to stress they are inclusive of all religious beliefs, so ending discrimination in this manner would back up this with the entirety of their membership, not with just a some of the religious sects that participate in scouting. Just because my scouts aren't LDS, Catholic or whatever religious flavor doesn't mean they are less worthy as scouts and their needs and the needs of their families shouldn't be addressed by national.

[AdventureMoms]

I think it is a pretty good step in the right direction. I'd love to see a true non-discrimination policy, but I do think this is a good step. It would be enough that I would be willing to at least consider scouts for my boys if it seemed a good fit. With the current policy of discrimination I'm not comfortable with boyscouts for our family.

[Joshin]

So, what we would do at the Eagle level (it's my job to conduct all EBoR for the entire district)? I have LDS members on my boards, usually. They aren't going to vote a unanimous board for an avowed gay candidate. I often have Catholic members, most of whom would not vote for an avowed homosexual. I use these men on boards because they've given their lives to Scouts and are passionate about what Scouts stands for. This is not as simple as "let the unit decide". The units belong to districts and councils. What happens at the council level for Friends of Scouting (the major fundraising every year)? No FoS $$ is going to come from an LDS unit to the council at that point.

 

 

Those that sit on EBoR will not be able to unless they can follow the national rules for determining a candidates eligibility, plain and simple. There are other more appropriate board candidates out there. There are people in our council that would not support a Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu scout. They would not be asked to sit on that scout's BoR. Plus, the scout's sexual orientation should NEVER come up in a BoR. This is a youth, there is no need to ask his orientation unless the adult's are purposely looking to start trouble.

 

As for funding, new funding sources will open up, likely including the reinstatement of United Way funds. You may be surprised how much money some units and councils lose over this discrimination. I know of one unit that lost one major local funder, and the funder specifically said they were going to stop writing checks because of the discrimination policy.

[justasque]

So, what we would do at the Eagle level (it's my job to conduct all EBoR for the entire district)? I have LDS members on my boards, usually. They aren't going to vote a unanimous board for an avowed gay candidate. I often have Catholic members, most of whom would not vote for an avowed homosexual. I use these men on boards because they've given their lives to Scouts and are passionate about what Scouts stands for. ...

 

Margaret, I have watched an Eagle BOR where this topic came up. The BOR was made up of several men who had been involved in scouting for 40 or 50 years. The scout was asked if he could change one thing in scouting, what would it be? The scout thought long and hard about it, and, knowing he could be risking his Eagle by doing it - *years* of hard work - took a deep breath and said he would change the policy on gay scouts. There was a long, long pause. Then one of the elder men on the board broke the silence, by saying he too would like to see the policy change. I don't think everyone on the board agreed, but I think they respected the scout. They all voted him to Eagle rank.

[Runningmom80]

I think it is a pretty good step in the right direction. I'd love to see a true non-discrimination policy, but I do think this is a good step. It would be enough that I would be willing to at least consider scouts for my boys if it seemed a good fit. With the current policy of discrimination I'm not comfortable with boyscouts for our family.

 

 

Ditto

[Joshin]

Not to make light of your situation, Margaret, but if it's really as you say in your area, the problem will solve itself. The first Eagle candidate denied on those grounds will appeal it with national, and will receive his Eagle since he didn't do anything wrong. If the issue continues, national will have to decided whether to renew the council charter if these seasoned scout veterans refuse to follow national policy when determining Eagle eligibility.

 

But seriously, you only need three board members for a EBoR. They do not have to be former scouts or former Eagles. They don't have to be men. It sounds as unnecessary limits on board member eligibility is more of a problem here.

[QueenCat]

So, what we would do at the Eagle level (it's my job to conduct all EBoR for the entire district)? I have LDS members on my boards, usually. They aren't going to vote a unanimous board for an avowed gay candidate. I often have Catholic members, most of whom would not vote for an avowed homosexual. I use these men on boards because they've given their lives to Scouts and are passionate about what Scouts stands for. This is not as simple as "let the unit decide". The units belong to districts and councils. What happens at the council level for Friends of Scouting (the major fundraising every year)? No FoS $$ is going to come from an LDS unit to the council at that point.

 

 

 

Aaah.... hadn't thought about things like that....

[Xuzi]

Just to chime in here, there ARE LDS persons involved in Scouts who would welcome the change.

 

(and that's about all I have to offer to this discussion, as neither of my boys are Scouts, and neither was my DH)

[Jenny in Florida]

What happens at the council level for Friends of Scouting (the major fundraising every year)? No FoS $$ is going to come from an LDS unit to the council at that point.

 

That would be a shame for local troops.

 

On the other hand, you might find people like me, who currently refuse to give any money to BSA or support their fundraisers, might be willing to make up some of the shortfall.

[DianeW88]

Margaret is probably right. The LDS church would most likely pull out of Boy Scouts if they changed their policy. BSA would lose a ton of money if they did. The LDS church is the largest sponsor of troops and the largest private donor to the organization. In western states, this would severely impact the organization to the point where they may not be able to function in certain areas. Now, since I'm only a member of the church, and not officially in charge of one darn thing....this is only my opinion, based on what I've heard from others. Personally, it doesn't bother me if there are gay scouts or leaders, but again, I'm not in charge of anything. LOL

[Jennifer3141]

I think it is a pretty good step in the right direction. I'd love to see a true non-discrimination policy, but I do think this is a good step. It would be enough that I would be willing to at least consider scouts for my boys if it seemed a good fit. With the current policy of discrimination I'm not comfortable with boyscouts for our family.

 

 

My DS has been so jealous of his sister's GS that it is crazy. I sat him down and explained WHY I couldn't allow into into BS and he agreed. If this policy changes and it we have a local troop (and I know we do!) who accepts gay kids, we will join BS the day the policy change is announced. We are very excited. It's not exactly what I hope for but it's a step in the right direction and I'll reward BS with our membership and activity if they do. :)

[Murphy101]

Well that's sad news to hear. If i understand correct tho, this has not actually happened yet. I hope it doesn't, tho we don't do scouts due to time/money issues.

 

Many Catholics have and continue to leave Girl Scouts. Our parish is going with heritage girls now. And I never would do Girl Scouts, but I have two girls in AHG.

 

I foresee a heritage boys group in the future.

 

I suspect heritage girls will have to cut their newly formed ties to Boy Scouts if this does indeed go into affect.

[Jennifer3141]

That would be a shame for local troops.

 

On the other hand, you might find people like me, who currently refuse to give any money to BSA or support their fundraisers, might be willing to make up some of the shortfall.

 

 

ITA

 

We have deliberately refused to donate money to BS in the past because of their discriminiation policy. We will buy popcorn just as vigorously as we do DD's cookies and candies the day they make the change.

 

There's no way in heck BS hasn't taken this into consideration. They must have decided that the people who have refused to participate in the past would, if they changed their policy.

[Jenny in Florida]

 

 

ITA

 

We have deliberately refused to donate money to BS in the past because of their discriminiation policy. We will buy popcorn just as vigorously as we do DD's cookies and candies the day they make the change.

 

There's no way in heck BS hasn't taken this into consideration. They must have decided that the people who have refused to participate in the past would, if they changed their policy.

 

We won't even buy a cold soda from the BSA booths at craft fairs. It would be awfully nice not to have to wait until we leave events to buy a bottle of water!

[caroljenn]

My ds was never a scout, and dd was a scout for a short time until I found out that GSA gives money to Planned Parenthood. All scouting is out in my family- I will choose, just like others should, groups that my children can join that share our values. I agree with the previous poster who said it will help grow other groups. What will happen is that BSA will shrink instead of grow, and other groups will pop up, and there will be a vast diverse group of groups doing "scouting" stuff.

 

And before you start bashing me, I have a few very close friends who are gay. I am not a gay basher, but I don't promote the lifestyle either. My gay friends know that I am not a bigot, so don't call me one. I feel that my ultimate responsibility is to please my God in everything I do and say and support.

 

 

[DawnM]

Carol,

 

Are you aware that BS and GS are NOT the same organization?

[justasque]

Margaret - I don't know about LDS, but the Catholic church does believe that gay people can lead an honorable, celibate life. Doing so is not deemed to be immoral.

 

The Catholic schools in my area have gay students; it's not usually an issue. (However, I'm in the east coast corridor - I realize it might be different elsewhere in the country.)

 

There is a difference between attraction and actions, for both gay and straight. Currently, no one asks scouts of any persuasion about their actions outside of scouting activities (assuming they don't do something illegal); presumably this would not change. Straight boys aren't generally denied Eagle for *actions* - it simply doesn't come up.

 

There is not now, nor will there be, any place for *activity* within scouting events, regardless of who is participating in said activity.

Venture crews handle mixed-gender camping. Summer camps handle mixed-gender staff. Honorable scouts can handle this change.

 

This, from the Catholic church, regarding gay children, might be helpful to ponder:

 

 

Your child may need you and the family now more than ever. He or she is still the same person. This child, who has always been God's gift to you, may now be the cause of another gift: your family becoming more honest, respectful, and supportive. Yes, your love can be tested by this reality, but it can also grow stronger through your struggle to respond lovingly.

...

All in all, it is essential to recall one basic truth. God loves every person as a unique individual. Sexual identity helps to define the unique persons we are, and one component of our sexual identity is sexual orientation. Thus, our total personhood is more encompassing than sexual orientation. Human beings see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart (cf. 1 Sm 16:7).

 

God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual. God's love is always and everywhere offered to those who are open to receiving it. St. Paul's words offer great hope:

 

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[bettyandbob]

I really don't think this will cause reduction of troops in the long run. I suspect the majority of troops in existence will remain. AND I suspect there are new BSA troops that will form. Perhaps some will leave. I think attrition will be balanced with new members.

 

It will be a long time before anything new along the lines of American Heritage could form and have the resources BSA has. I know quite a few families heavily involved in BSA who are not comfortable with the anti gay viewpoint, but appreciate all the other things BSA offers. Two of the people these people I know have had adult leadership positions in a couple of troops in my area.

[Jennifer3141]

I really don't think this will cause reduction of troops in the long run. I suspect the majority of troops in existence will remain. AND I suspect there are new BSA troops that will form. Perhaps some will leave. I think attrition will be balanced with new members.

 

It will be a long time before anything new along the lines of American Heritage could form and have the resources BSA has. I know quite a few families heavily involved in BSA who are not comfortable with the anti gay viewpoint, but appreciate all the other things BSA offers. Two of the people these people I know have had adult leadership positions in a couple of troops in my area.

 

 

 

I agree. I think BS will lose the more conservative groups within BS but clearly it believes there are enough of the more progressive people to compensate for that loss. The membership numbers next year will be quite interesting. People are excited about the potential for change though. I've already had one troop cold call to find out if we're interested. My answer was yes, as soon as this change is made.

[Guest inoubliable]

It'll be a wash. Fundies and conservative will drop BSA and form something else. Progressives and liberals will finally be down with joining and supporting the BSA. Business as usual in the U.S.

[PinkInTheBlue]

It'll be a wash. Fundies and conservative will drop BSA and form something else. Progressives and liberals will finally be down with joining and supporting the BSA. Business as usual in the U.S.

 

That's my guess as well. Numbers might drop here in the south (ugh!) but rise in more progressive areas.

[caroljenn]

Dawn, yes I am aware they are different organizations. My ds is 3 years older than dd and never wanted to be a scout,so he wasn't. He is. 19 now and it never had anything to do with BSA policies. Dd was a girl scout, like I said, for two years. We didn't re-up her membership because of the PP thing and because she had too much schoolwork to deal with all of the time the meetings took. She wasn't that into it, so it wasn't hard to cut.

 

Not sure what that has to do with anything? My kids traveled many different paths during childhood.

 

BSA will lose members bcause of this, and BSA will gain other members because of this. I do think that many other groups will grow and new groups will surface. I don't see what the problem is. There will be liberal groups, conservative groups and every other type of group- that would probably be best anyway, so everyone is comfortable with what their kids are involved in.

[Unicorn.]

"There are other more appropriate board candidates out there." Not around here. I'm already traveling 130 miles to do EBoR. I can't handpick members on whether they'll pass at boy or not--can't do it at the unit level or not, either. I pick members who understand how Scouts works and are Eagles themselves. United Way basically doesn't exist around here--we're not going to get any funds reinstated from them.

 

How do these board members handle a Jewish scout? Or someone who is Muslim, or Buddhist? They obviously have very different beliefs. If the BSA takes a non discrimination route, and leaves it up to individual charter's organization, then council must side w/ the scout, if his chartered org. doesn't discriminate. I have a feeling it's going to get ugly for a while. And I don't think it's going to destroy the BSA- it didn't in the UK.

[DawnM]

It has to do with the statement you made re: GS donating to PP so therefore ALL scouting was out.

 

Dawn

 

Dawn, yes I am aware they are different organizations. My ds is 3 years older than dd and never wanted to be a scout,so he wasn't. He is. 19 now and it never had anything to do with BSA policies. Dd was a girl scout, like I said, for two years. We didn't re-up her membership because of the PP thing and because she had too much schoolwork to deal with all of the time the meetings took. She wasn't that into it, so it wasn't hard to cut.

 

Not sure what that has to do with anything? My kids traveled many different paths during childhood.

 

BSA will lose members bcause of this, and BSA will gain other members because of this. I do think that many other groups will grow and new groups will surface. I don't see what the problem is. There will be liberal groups, conservative groups and every other type of group- that would probably be best anyway, so everyone is comfortable with what their kids are involved in.

[happyhomemaker25]

Well that's sad news to hear. If i understand correct tho, this has not actually happened yet. I hope it doesn't, tho we don't do scouts due to time/money issues.

 

Many Catholics have and continue to leave Girl Scouts. Our parish is going with heritage girls now. And I never would do Girl Scouts, but I have two girls in AHG.

 

I foresee a heritage boys group in the future.

 

I suspect heritage girls will have to cut their newly formed ties to Boy Scouts if this does indeed go into affect.

 

 

Yep, just got an email from the head of AHG saying that they are praying, and that if the decision comes down they will decide what to do from there. I was just getting to a place where we could sign the boys up. We have some boys at church heavily involved in BS and we were looking forward to getting involved.

Guess I'll save my money and time for now and find something else for the boys. My girls love AHG.

[chiguirre]

My ds was never a scout, and dd was a scout for a short time until I found out that GSA gives money to Planned Parenthood.

 

This statement isn't true. See Snopes:

 

http://www.snopes.com/politics/sexuality/girlscouts.asp

[Lisbeth]

http://www.scouting....shipPolicy.aspx

 

We have not been involved with scouts to this point because we disagree with their stance on gay individuals.

 

If you are involved with scouting, don't troops interact? It sounds like if they do make changes, the policy on inclusion of gay chidlrenand leaders will be up to the individual troop? I am wondering how that would play out at events where there are multiple troops. Isn't that going to be an issue for troops that are religiously or morally opposed to including gays?

 

I'm just wondering how this would actually work in reality. Maybe I don't fully understand how scouting works. It seems like troops interact with one another, and I can't imagine that being accepted by those who have not wanted gays included to this point.

 

I CAN see this being a problem. As a Mormon I can see them just using a Church internal scoutin proframg instead of BSA. The LDS Church makes up a substantial chunk of membership...and I greatly doubt there would be enough 'progressive' interest to make up for that. We'll see! Don't discount the Catholic influence, either. Some Cath. organizations are dropping Girl Scouts for AHG.

[Izzy]

Here is a good alternative to Boy Scouts. We have a local group which I would let my boys join if they were ever interested. So far they they are only interested in sports so it hasn't been an issue. http://www.campfireusa.org/

 

 

 

[Joshin]

LDS makes up around 10 percent of the BSA's membership. I believe that can easily be made up if the church decided to pull out of scouting. 65 percent of charters are held by churches, but that number became inflated when it became more difficult for school's, fire departments and other tax-money receiving groups to charter units because of discrimination laws (units that meet in schools are chartered by parent groups now, but a lot of units lost their charter). These entities may be able to resume chartering units again, so a loss of church charters won't be a huge blow.