We made a video before about the problems with the Boy Scouts of America,
but let me summarize the two big issues. For a long time,
the Boy Scouts said that you cannot be a member if you were gay or if you were an atheist.
If they found out you were one or the other, they kicked you out.
Now, they're a private group so they're allowed to do this, but there are times
when they get plenty of support from the federal government in our public schools
and that's really where the problem was. Now in 2013, they finally lifted the ban
on gay Scouts and a couple of years later they lifted the ban on gay Scout leaders,
and that's awesome. I love that. But the ban on atheists is still in effect.
Now, here's why I bring this up.
Consider the Unitarian Universalist Association. They have long been on the
side of civil rights and they have many non-religious members.
In 1998, they cut all ties with the Boy Scouts because of all the bigotry,
and even as these barriers came down over the past few years, the Unitarians kept their distance --
they were showing solidarity with atheists.
That's fantastic and they deserve to be commended for that, but that all changed
a couple of months ago when the Unitarians decided to reconcile with the
Boy Scouts. They signed a memorandum of understanding that will lead to more
cooperation between the two groups. In effect, the UUA said it would be able to
establish Boy Scout troops in their own churches.
So what about the atheists? Well, the rationale at the time was that it would
be easier for them to create change from the inside, so they wanted to work with
the Boy Scouts. Now, maybe that sounds strategic, but plenty of people within
the Boy Scouts fought against their anti-gay policies for years and they
didn't get anywhere.
It wasn't until the public pressure from the outside became so overwhelming --
I mean, really threatening the livelihood of so many of these troops -- that the Boy
Scouts finally decided to give way. And let's be honest, the Boy Scouts anti-atheist
bigotry isn't nearly as well known as their anti-gay bigotry,
so that pressure just isn't going to be there
from the outside this time around.
So on a practical level, it's really hard for me to see how the UUA basically
high-fiving the Boy Scouts will lead to any change in policy. Now, more recently,
after a lot of internal pushback, the UUA clarified its policy with the Boy Scouts.
They said that if atheists were in those Unitarian affiliated troops,
it was okay. They wouldn't be kicked out. But I'm not sure that's a good policy either.
The Boy Scouts are basically saying, "here little doggie, have a treat,
now shut up!" Meanwhile, all the other doggies are starving.
I don't know if that's a good analogy, but the fact is atheists are still being
discriminated against by the Boy Scouts unless they belong to the right church,
which if you think about it, just doesn't make that much sense.
There are only two solutions here: either the Boy Scouts drops its anti-atheist
ban for everybody, or atheists and the people who claim to support us
don't do business with the Boy Scouts until they change their ways.
A Band-Aid isn't enough,
and this temporary solution shouldn't be acceptable to anybody.
It's just an attempt to silence some of the Boy Scouts most vocal critics.
Look, the Boy Scouts needs atheists far more than we need them.
Let's not settle for some under-the-table concession.
My name is Hemant Mehta and I write at friendlyatheist.com
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