Here’s the bottom line: If the Scout participates in any type of religious organization, whether it speaks of God or not, there’s no problem.
If the Scout perceives some power, essence, being, or motive force in the universe that could deserve to be called ‘God,’ there should be no problem.
On the other hand, if the Scout or Scout’s family’s personal beliefs forbid referring to any entity as ‘God’ then the Scout could have trouble participating in BSA’s Scouting programs.
Here’s how it works.
Recently, I spoke to a young adult who avoided attending a funeral. To quote, “The religious stuff creeped me out.”
This is a common reaction from people who haven’t confronted choices of faith, or haven’t resolved them.
Most religious institutions aren’t trying to creep people out. Shouldn’t we minimize or prevent such feelings?
Boy Scouts practically excludes youth brought up outside of religious groups. I don’t think the founders of Scouting wanted to exclude any boys from Boy Scouts. I think we can fix it.
Smatters 