Reverent

Just a friendly reminder, these are my personal thoughts and do not reflect the official view of the BSA or Camp Parsons.

It has been said that one should never discuss politics and religion in polite company.  However one of the most contentious topics regarding the BSA is the organization's Declaration of Religious Principle; The BSA 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 towards that religious training; this is left to the member's parents and particular group the member may be affiliated with to give that attention to religious life.

I have had numerous discussions with adult leaders, friends and other staff members about the role of religion in the scouting movement.  Some of the discussions have been academic while others have been contentious which is not surprising when discussing something that requires faith and comes with some passion.  Lord Baden-Powell himself was a deeply devout Christian man and looked upon religion not as an "add-on" but a fundamental factor underlying the scouting movement.  The educational approach within the movement consists of helping young people to transcend the material world and go in search of the spiritual values of life.  I find that interesting as it ties in with our Kipling quotation that hangs in the dining hall....."something lost behind the ranges, lost and waiting for you....."

Just a reminder; these are my ruminations and do not reflect the official views of the BSA or Camp Parsons.

As I said before, Lord Baden-Powell was a Christian man and that could be demonstrated in some of his writings, particularly a foreword in a pamphlet on Scouting and Christianity where he wrote, "Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity."  That being said, he had a better grasp on this concept when he said that being in the outdoors and observing the beauties of nature was the best way to apprehend God and that no one religion had the monopoly on truth.  His views on religion came down to two aspects; Love and serve God; Love and serve your neighbor.  In his book "Aids to Scoutmastership" he made it very clear that the belief or creed of any member was left to the parents and that scouting was to respect that and do what it could to support the parents.  As such he invited Muslims and Buddhists to pray with him at Gilwell Park much to the chagrin of many church leaders.

I think the rub for most people comes down to organized religion and the "baggage" that comes with it due to the frailty of man.  Many churches have had to deal with scandals; as a Roman Catholic I was disgusted by the crimes that were committed by men who were supposed to devote themselves to the teachings of Christ.  However man is not infallible and unfortunately is subject to human temptations no matter how revolting that particular temptation may be.  When these things happen the message of what a religion should bring gets lost in translation.  That message in my mind is the idea that there is more to the world than what you see and there is more to the world than just you.  You can see it in the beauty of nature and you see it in the kindness of one person to another.  Do we need organized religion for that?  I don't know.  You don't need to go to a doctor to be healthy but you may need to go to one if you get very ill if for nothing else advice or possibly even treatment.  You don't need to have a teacher to learn, but a teacher will guide, instruct and help develop your skills for you to be successful.  When one has a crisis of faith, it is good to go to a person who understands your belief system and can guide you through it.  Does "religion" have to be tied to a physical church?  That is the question for the individual and how you define religion.  What our founder was getting at, in my humble opinion, was one of humility and service that could only be phrased in a way that an organization founded in 1905 would understand.

The only affirmation to the Declaration of Religious Principles is in the Scout Oath,...."to do my duty to God and my country...."  Reverent is synonymous to respect.  One should be reverent to their God but a good scout is reverent to so much more.  Yes, this word has more than one meaning.  Scouting is not a religious organization (a point of contention and argument).....it does not adhere to one set of rules or favors a particular sect.  However Scouting is an organization of religious principles and that begins with the understanding that there is a higher power at work......what ever that might be.  You would be surprised to know that many people I have worked with in the past who would consider themselves atheists or agnostics live more "Christian" lives than those who proudly (and loudly) declare themselves to be Christian.  I guess God works in mysterious ways.

So these are ruminations of mine.  Although I adhere to an organized group I respect all other beliefs.  I have never found myself needing to defend my views (it is my faith, no one elses) nor do I see any reason to disrespect anyone elses beliefs or lack there of.  I guess with that respect I can consider myself reverent.