MRC_Hans said:
I don't get your question. Do you imply that atheists CANNOT join the Scouts? I have never heard of that, and I think such a rule would be illegal in most western countries.
Or are you asking if atheists refrain from joining because of the religious undertone? In that case, I can answer for myself that it would not and has not make me keep neither myself nor my children away from such organisations. Even a child coming from a non-religious home will not be hurt by a few prayers.
Hans
Allow me to explain. Although Scouting has always had a religion requirement, it has really been irrelevant up until recently. There have been atheists in the BSA before and there are many now, with some troops supporting atheist members openly; many individual troops have something of an informal religious privacy policy, where beyond the mention of God in the oath, religion is simply not discussed. Indeed, since quite possibly every scout in a particular troop has a different religion, discussions of a religious nature become impractical and problematic, quickly. Discussions in my troop have been limited to "Whatever your religion is or will be, do what needs doing" - such discussions are really the most that can be expected of us. There is no "religion" space on the application form, and our troop does not tend to ask prospectives about their religion.
Lately, some Eagle candidates have been rejected by this or that particular council when it is found out they are atheists; as far as I know there have been 2 such incidents within the last 5 years (there may have been more).
One of the most serious problems that has arisen from this "controversy", along with the distance BSA tries to put between itself and homosexuality (which is a seperate issue not entertained in this thread), is that some people paint Scouts and leaders at the troop level as homophobes or fanatical religious fundamentalists; of course, they're neither, and most troops are simply not involved or informed regarding these issues. But people persist, refusing to patronize car washes (etc) conducted by this or that particular troop, with the justification that "they don't want to support bigotry". Of course, the money individual troops earn from their fund raisers more often than not does not go to National, but stays within the troop itself, to be used for buying new equipment or food for a trip.
While the effect may be
intended to cut into individual troops' funding, hoping the same is done to troops nationwide in an effort to eventually show BSA that their policies are unpopular, I can say that it will not be successful. Already, the more "urban" troops (which are more affected by the lack of funding) are being more or less left to wither while their councils emphasize recruitment and support in small-town settings where the people are unlikely to care about whether the Scouts accept atheists or gays, and Scouting is slowly becoming a club for the rich.
With my wandering rant complete, I suppose my questions were pretty straightforward. I don't imagine an atheist kid would have too much trouble listening to an occasional before-meal prayer; likewise, if a scout does not believe in God, pledging an oath to "do one's unspecified duty" to such an entity certainly places no extra burden or expectation upon him. But I expect some may differ with my opinions, so I'm asking them to give theirs.
