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Background Information

• According to the Boy Scouts of America's Federal Charter, "The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues..."

• The President of the United States is Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

• The Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have strong financial and administrative ties to the Boy Scouts.

• The Boy Scouts of America benefits from government subsidies such as access to public lands and facilities for free or at a reduced cost. Government subsidies are paid for by taxes from people of varying sexual, religious, and non-religious orientations.

• The National Scout Jamboree is held every four years. Since 1981, the U.S. Army has allowed the BSA to use Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia as the home of the National Jamboree. It is a training opportunity for the U.S. military, which has been supporting it since the 1930s with contractors, 1,500 troops, and $2 million a year in Defense Department funding. A federal judge ruled in June 2005 that this funding is unconstitutional because the BSA is a religious organization, requiring Scouts to affirm a belief in God. (There is separation of church and state in the United States.)

• Applications for leadership and membership do not inquire into sexual orientation, however, an individual who declares himself to be a homosexual would not be permitted to join Scouting. It is unclear why the BSA does not inquire into sexual orientation during the application process since a declaration of homosexuality in the future could result in expulsion from a Scout troop or the BSA.

• A U.S. Supreme Court decision (Boy Scouts of America v. Dale) has allowed the Boy Scouts to continue to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The question of religious discrimination (the requirement to affirm a belief in and a duty to God) has not been considered by the Supreme Court. The BSA considers this discrimination to be justified based on the principle of “freedom of association”.

• In order to comply with anti-discrimination laws, some localities have withdrawn Boy Scout access to public schools and facilities. United Ways in numerous localities have withdrawn funding from the BSA because of United Way anti-discrimination policies. The BSA's discriminatory policies have made it the target of costly litigation, notably lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Controversy

Some practices of the organization have received increased public attention, largely beginning in the last quarter of the 20th century.

The Boy Scouts give female adult leaders all of the privileges of male adult leaders. Although this was not true in decades past, the policy was instituted in response to a perceived shortage of adult males willing to participate actively in running the troops. While many scouting adults do have their own children in the program, it is not necessary to have a child in the program to be actively involved with a scout unit.

Until 1954, the Boy Scouts of America was a racially segregated organization. Colored Troops, as they were officially known, were given little support from Districts, Councils and the national offices. Some scouting executives and leaders believed that Colored Scouts and Leaders would be less able to live up to the ideals of the Boy Scouts.

Violence

In the 1980s, some Boy Scout troops in the Eastern United States were involved in a scandal resulting in violence occurring on campout trips. In Virginia, a report surfaced that a scout had been badly beaten by fellow scouts at the Goshen, Virginia Boy Scout Camp. Further reports followed of bullying of younger scouts by older scouts, especially on prolonged outdoor trips where adult supervision was limited. Parents challenged the Boy Scouts attitude to such instances, since several adult leaders were quoted as saying that scouts in the field should "know how to take care of themselves" and that "natural horseplay" on campout trips was not a problem.

To prevent such incidents and other forms of child abuse, the BSA developed an extensive Youth Protection Plan in the mid-eighties that actively teaches both youth members and adult leaders in how to recognize, resist and report child abuse in both Scout and non-Scout venues. In addition, it provides tight requirements on adult leadership and activities to help ensure that Scouting is a safe venue for its participants. Several Scouts have been expelled from the organization for violence.

Atheism and homosexuality

The BSA leadership's prohibition of known or avowed homosexuals, and leaders or members who refuse to affirm their "duty to God" (usually atheists or agnostics), has been particularly controversial in some quarters. The prohibition is enforced in many cases, but not always. Some donors of funding or meeting space have reduced their support in protest of these policies, while other donors have increased their support of Scouting in part specifically due to the policies.

The BSA maintains that it has the right to select as leaders the best possible role models for the values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law. Lawsuits over this matter have gone as high as the United States Supreme Court, which ruled (in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale) that the BSA is a private association with the right to set its own standards for membership and leadership.

The BSA also maintains that an avowed homosexual is not a role model for those values. Officially, the BSA makes no effort to discover the sexual orientation of any person. Critics contend that some leaders within BSA have investigated and expelled non-avowed homosexual leaders and members from the organization.

Individual councils, such as the Boston Minuteman Council and Old Colony Council of Massachusetts, have arguably not enforced the controversial policies, apparently defying the national council. In August 2001, a spokesperson for the Boston Minuteman Council was quoted by the Boston Globe as saying, "Discussions about sexual orientation do not have a place in Scouts. The Scouts will not inquire into a person's sexual history, and that person will not expose their sexual orientation one way or the other." The council argued that their "don't ask, don't tell" policy does not, in fact, conflict with the national policy, but in public discussions, some supporters and opponents of the national policy have regarded the above-cited Massachusetts' councils' policies as meaningfully different from the national policy.

Boy Scouts of America's Position

As quoted in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale from a 1993 BSA position statement, the BSA prohibits homosexuals as both leaders and members. "The Boy Scouts of America has always reflected the expectations that Scouting families have had for the organization. They do not believe that homosexuals provide a role model consistent with these expectations. Accordingly, they do not allow for the registration of avowed homosexuals as members or as leaders of the BSA."

Declaration of Religious Principle Excerpted: from Adult Registration Application B.S.A. No. 28-501K. The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but is absolutely non-sectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. The Boy Scouts of America's policy is that the home and the organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. Only persons willing to subscribe to this Declaration of Religious Principle and to the Bylaws of the Boy Scouts of America shall be entitled to certificates of leadership.

The BSA believes it has the right to set its own membership standards based on the principle of "freedom of association".

Responses

Since the homosexuality debate surfaced, several large municipal governments in America have refused to let Boy Scouts use municipal facilities at a discounted rate (which had been usual practice), and several charitable organizations and influential people refuse to sponsor the organization. On the other hand, some donors have given more to the organization in support of its position. Some have threatened to withdraw support if the position is changed.

BSA policy has also led to disagreement between the BSA and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) (see Unitarian Universalism). The UUA has acceptance as one of its defining virtues, and this includes respect and inclusion of atheists, gays, and lesbians. The BSA had long recognized UUA religious badges, along with those of many other religions. In 1993, the UUA added information about its anti-discrimination stance to the award program manual. Five years later, the BSA responded by withdrawing recognition of the badges, and instructing Scouts not to wear them. The UUA attempted to compromise, removing language that the BSA considers offensive from its official program manuals and informing young Unitarian Universalist Boy Scouts of the UUA viewpoint regarding tolerance through other means. However, the BSA did not accept the UUA alternative. The UUA continues its Boy Scout program and encourages Boy Scouts to wear the Unitarian Universalist religious badges on their uniforms. A member of the UUA, the All Souls Community, established a program called "The Navigators" as an inclusive alterative to the Boy Scouts of America.

In 2001, the Commission on Social Action of the Union for Reform Judaism issued a memorandum recommending congregations stop sponsoring / housing troops and packs associated with the Boy Scouts of America and that parents withdraw their children from troops and packs. The Commission cited the Reform commitment to ending discrimination in all forms.

One of the BSA's largest chartered partners is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church"; see also Mormon), which opposes homosexuality. The church has supported the BSA, both financially and by providing members, throughout the BSA's existence. (Scouting is part of the church's youth program, and most LDS boys who attend church are enrolled as Scouts as a matter of routine.) LDS leadership has threatened to remove its support if BSA homosexuality policy is changed. However, it currently sponsors Scouts Canada, which permits homosexuals to join.

The European region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement formally condemned the policy of the Boy Scouts of America to exclude homosexuals as leaders.

• Boy Scouts of America controversies