Religious intolerance and homophobia

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Boy Scouts of America: Discrimination
based on religious belief & sexual orientation.

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In this section, the term LGBT refers to the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual community.

Quotations:

	"No man is much good unless he believes in God and obeys His laws. So every Scout should have religion." From the book "Scouting for Boys" by Robert Lord Baden Powell (founder of the Scouting movement).
	"I believe that the Boy Scouts of America does a wonderful service for this country. I support the right of the Boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue. I feel that all people should be able to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation." Mitt Romney, while debating with Ted Kennedy in the Massachusetts senate race of 1994.
	"The Boy Scouts of America maintain that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing his obligation to God." Boy Scouts of America, Bylaws.
	"Any organization could profit from a 10-year-old member with enough strength of character to refuse to swear falsely." Editorial, New York Times, 1993-DEC-12, commenting on the Boy Scouts' exclusion of a young Atheist
	"If a youth comes to a Scoutmaster and admits to doing wrong, like stealing, lying, cheating or vandalizing, the normal procedure is to counsel the youth privately and sympathetically...If the youth admits to being a homosexual, the Boy Scouts' policy is to instantly terminate his association with Scouting." Findings of fact, in a DC court case 1
	"Obviously, the Boy Scouts can accept and reject whomever they wish. But officials should bear in mind that they, like the Christian Right and the Anglican bishops, are disserving the nation's boys -- mere children -- when teaching them to hate fellow humans." Bill Maxwell, St. Petersburg Times, 1998-AUG-9
	"...access http://www.defendscouting.org for updated information on the campaign to destroy the Boy Scouts." Traditional Values Coalition Newsletter, 2001-JUN-29 (The web site has since gone offline.)
	"The available evidence points inexorably to the conclusion that Baden-Powell was a repressed homosexual." Tim Jeal 2
	"...the Boy Scouts of America have been brutally assailed as malicious monsters because they believe that only adults who adhere to a moral code should lead young boys." Jerry Falwell 3
	"When religion sanctifies hatred, it lends to that hatred a special ferocity. Normal moral inhibitors are erased." Johannes Cardinal Wildebrands.

Essays in this section:

	Information about the Boy Scouts of America:   Part 1: Description, Religious foundation, Membership requirements. Part 2: BSA's tolerance & discrimination policies. Change in the U.S. culture, and the BSA's response. Part 3: Discrimination against gays & bisexuals: Consequences. Webmaster's comments. Is the BSA discriminating against the wrong members? BSA changes. Part 4: Discrimination against Atheists and other non-theists. Efforts to overcome the discrimination
	The BSA and its funding sources
	Additional information: The BSA and Unitarian Universalists. The BSA and the U.S. federal government Boy Scouts in Canada and the UK. Author's comments Groups opposed to the BSA's policies of discrimination against gays
	Recent court cases 1998 to 1999-OCT 1999-DEC to now
	Year 2000: U.S. Supreme Court decision
	Recent events reported in the media: Year 2000 Year 2001 Year 2002 Year 2003 Year 2004 to 2010 Year 2012:  Secret BSA committee reviews policy on gays and decides to retain it unchanged. Part 1 Part 2 2012-AUG: Mitt Romney & President Obama support gays in BSA. Webmaster's comments 2012/2013: Boy Scouts of America's VOS survey. Audio livecast to voting members Year 2013: 2013-JAN: BSA considers, but rejects, transferring its anti-gay national discriminatory policies to the local level 2013-APR/MAY: BSA reverses its national policy banning gay, lesbian & bisexual youth.

Related essays on this site:

	Homosexuality and bisexuality
	Different religions, different beliefs

References:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. "Findings of Fact..., R.D. Pool & M.S. Geller vs. Boy Scouts of America..." Commission on Human Rights, Government of the District of Columbia, 1998-MAY-1, at http://www.uua.org/news/scouts/pool_fact.html
2.  Tim Jeal, "Boy-Man: The Life of Lord Baden-Powell"
3. Jerry Falwell, "The New Racism," Falwell Confidential, 2001-AUG-30

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Copyright © 1999 to 2013 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 
Originally published on 1999-AUG-9
Latest updated: 2013-FEB-07
Author: B.A. Robinson

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