Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910 by James West. The movement began two years earlier in England, where Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Baden-Powell founded it. He had been a hero of the South African Boer Wars.

Today the Scout Movement is the largest voluntary youth group in the world. Its membership exceeds 28 million, counting boys and girls. Most (95 of 155 National Scout Organisations) are now mixed at at least some ages.

Baden-Powell wrote in a pamphlet "Scouting & Christianity" (1917): "Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity." Since then, various Scouting Organisations have been founded for members of other religions, or which are not specific to any religion.

Here is one version of the Scout Oath:

On my honor, I will do my best: To do my duty to God and my

country, and to obey the Scout Law, To help other people at all times. To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally

straight.

Many presidents have praised and addressed the Boy Scouts over the years. President Calvin Coolidge said this to a group of Boy Scouts in 1924:

The three fundamentals of scouthood are reverence for nature ... reverence for law ... and reverence for God. It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist. Doubters do not achieve. ... No man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is part of an unending plan.

In designing the Scouting program, Baden-Powell drew ideas from the Japanese warrior's bushido code, on educational methods of the African Zulu tribes. on the Victorian "ragged schools" movement, and the educational methods of Montessori.

Eagle Scout award

The highest award that may be awarded to a Boy Scout is the Eagle Scout award, which less than 5% of Scouts nationwide earn. One of the requirements for this award is leading a service project to benefit either the community at large, or a specific non-profit organization, such as a school or a church. Other requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges, including several specific ones, holding a position of leadership within one's troop, and appearing before a Board of Review.

Controversy

As a result of their strong adherence to traditional Christian morality, the Boy Scouts of America have come under criticism for their policy regarding homosexuals. As stated in a press release from the organization:

The BSA reaffirmed its view that an avowed homosexual cannot serve as a role model for the traditional moral values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law and that these values cannot be subject to local option choices.

This has led to several high profile lawsuits, such as the one brought by the ACLU of San Diego, which proposes that the discriminatory practices of the organization should make them ineligible for the use of public funds or public lands.

Prohibition of homosexual scout leaders is not universal within the BSA, however. The Massachusetts Minuteman Council, for example, adopted a bylaw in 2001 barring exclusion of anyone on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation. The bylaw, which resembles the U. S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, permits homosexuals to lead troops so long as they do not discuss their sexual orientation. Some other councils have similar policies.