Mormon church to support Boy Scouts despite gay troop leaders
The Mormon church will continue to support the Boy Scouts of America despite the group鈥檚 decision to allow gay troop leaders, say church leaders.
After a month of deliberation, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 鈥� which is the nation鈥檚 largest sponsor of Boy Scout units and continues to restrict gay and lesbian members from participating fully in church activities and leadership 鈥� Wednesday that it would maintain its 102-year-old association with Scouting following the BSA鈥檚 controversial July decision to let gay men lead Scout units.
The announcement, which comes after the BSA assured church leaders that they would continue to have control over their own hiring, highlights both the progress and problems of attempts to strike a middle ground on gay rights issues 鈥� especially for organizations like the Boy Scouts, which has grown increasingly bound to faith-based groups, 海角大神鈥檚 Amanda Paulson reported聽last month.
鈥淎s leaders of the Church, we want the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to succeed in its historic mission to instill leadership skills and high moral standards in youth of all faiths and circumstances,鈥� reads the church鈥檚 statement, issued by the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 鈥淭he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will go forward as a chartering organization of BSA, and as in the past, will appoint Scout leaders and volunteers who uphold and exemplify Church doctrine, values, and standards.鈥�
The BSA鈥檚 decision to lift the decades-old ban on gay troop leaders has faced heavy criticism from conservative and religious voices, many of whom regarded the Scouts as a 鈥渂ulwark of conservatism in a time of flux,鈥� .
Some 海角大神 Evangelical groups had already severed ties with the BSA following its decision to allow openly gay troops. After the announcement in July, John Stemberger, chairman of the board for 海角大神 scouting group Trail Life USA, , 鈥淚t is tragic that the BSA is willing to risk the safety and security of its boys because of peer pressure from activist groups.鈥�
Some LGBT rights advocates, meanwhile, saw the BSA鈥檚 decision as a halfhearted effort that is years behind its time. As Ms. Paulson reported:
A BSA decision to lift the ban on gay adults but still leave hiring decisions to the discretion of local religious-based organizations affiliated with troops might have seemed progressive if the Scouts had taken that stance 25 years ago, when many first urged it. But coming in 2015, it now seems to critics like too little, too late 鈥� a decision that will still allow for discrimination on religious grounds.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a highly divided organization,鈥� says Richard Ellis, a political science professor at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., and the author of 鈥淛udging the Boy Scouts of America,鈥� in an interview with the Monitor. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 not clear that even this solution, which is an attempt to get the [gay rights] issue out of the way, can do it, because nobody is happy with it.鈥�
When the BSA lifted the ban, the Mormon church said it was 鈥渄eeply troubled鈥� by the decision and was considering other options to the Scouts, which is its main nonreligious activity for boys, .
The church's latest, less-pointed position appears to show a willingness to work with the Scouts instead of replacing them, a stance that has since been welcomed by the BSA.
鈥淭he BSA affirms, and will defend, the right of all religious chartered organizations to select their Scout leaders in accordance with their religious beliefs,鈥� the Boy Scouts said in a statement, reported聽.
Still, some remain skeptical, as the church鈥檚 renewed commitment came with a statement that it would keep looking to evaluate and refine alternatives to Boy Scouts 鈥渢hat would better suit the increasingly global membership of the religion,鈥� the AP reported.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a holding pattern,鈥� said Matthew Bowman, a historian at Henderson State University who follows the Mormon church closely. 鈥淚 still think the church is likely to either alter or abandon the Boy Scouts at some point in the future.鈥�
