On 5/24/2013 3:39 PM, Douglas Johnson wrote:
Tom McDonald wrote:


If religion, or lack thereof, is a matter of choice, as are many other
things, why should Scouts single out one religious belief (i.e. 'None')
for special disdain? The only relevant part of the Scout Law that could
conceivably come into play is the last Law, A Scout is Reverent. There
is nothing whatsoever keeping an atheist Scout or Scouter from being
reverent. Nothing at all.

There is also the Scout Oath: "On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to
God and my Country..."

Yes. I forgot that. D'oh!

An atheist could simply say that he knows of no God, so has no duty to it. But
right now, the Scouts see it differently.

Yup. I even tried to be a Scout as a Pantheist, and was told that didn't
count. Not sure if the person I was speaking to (a camp chaplain)
understood the concept. I finally relented and said I was what I grew up
as--an Episcopalian.

Some of the whole discussion comes down to two different views of Scouting. Some
see it as largely a religious program like church camp. Lots of churches
sponsor troops. Others see it as primarily a secular program. Lots of troops
are sponsored by PTAs, Rotary Clubs, etc.

Yup. Personally, I see it as a youth development program, with spiritual
and secular aspects. In my mind, spirituality isn't co-terminus with
religion or a belief in God or gods.