The Boy Scout Controversy: Morality vs. Money

Boy Scouts of America has been in the news more lately than ever, it seems. At the center of this media frenzy is a powerful moral issue: homosexuality. Behind the obvious issue lies another important subject: money. It seems the Boy Scout organization is struggling with what is morally right as opposed to what is financially profitable. It is a battle of morality vs. money.

In an unscientific online survey, The Baptist Courier asked South Carolina Baptist pastors if their churches are affiliated with a Boy Scout troop. The survey elicited 88 responses.

BSA has been pressured and attacked by gay activists for years. During this time, the Boy Scouts have stood firm on sexual normalcy. Now, however, major corporate sponsors want no restrictions as to who can be a Scout or Scout leader. They are pressuring the Boy Scouts with their money to choose a moral path that is both sinful before God and destructive to the biblical ideal of family.

The Boy Scouts have always been an officially heterosexual organization. Gays were not allowed. The fight for homosexual inclusion was taken all the way to the Supreme Court, where a divided court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of the Scouts’ policy in 2000. In 2004, the BSA issued a statement: “The Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed.”

The Scout Oath says: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” Scout Law requires a Scout to be “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent.”

The culture war did not stop. The pressure for homosexual inclusion continued, leading the organization to do a two-year review of its policies. In July 2012, BSA spokesman Deron Smith made a statement based on that review. He stated that the policy that banned gays from the Scouts was “absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts.” Last week, only six months after endorsing the policy, the BSA executive committee was expected to change the policy by having no national policy regarding sexual orientation but to “allow the religious, civic, or educational organizations that oversee and deliver scouting to determine how to address the issue.” (Read what church leaders in South Carolina think about the possible policy change.)

This was a major shift in thinking that created a firestorm of protest. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, that same spokesman said that because of the “complexity of the issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy.” This gives rise to the question: What were they reviewing for two years before issuing a statement in support of the policy?

Now the policy will be discussed and presumably voted on when 1,400 Scout leaders gather for their national meeting in May.

The battle seems to come down to morality vs. money. Frank Page, CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, was told the BSA is “wilting under pressure from some of their corporate sponsors.” The organization’s largest donation in 2010 was $700,000 from Intel. Since then, Intel has withdrawn support because of the policy that bans homosexuals from the scouting program. In October, Merck and UPS announced they would no longer contribute because of the gay ban.

If the Scouts change their policy and go with what is being called a local option, the Supreme Court ruling of 2000 would be rendered ineffective. That ruling was largely based on the BSA’s teaching that homosexual behavior is a violation of its values. If the national organization removes the ban, according to Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., “it paves the way for activists to sue the troops that adhere to the traditional policy and to threaten troop leaders with personal liability.” Page noted that “national policy will always trump local autonomy.” The New York Times called the local option policy change a “halfway policy which would inevitably invite litigation.”

While Boy Scouts are not a Christian organization, they have espoused moral principles that support biblical teachings. Now that seems in jeopardy. South Carolina Baptist Convention executive director-treasurer Jim Austin said, “The current Boy Scout policy controversy clearly demonstrates that when a society loses its moral compass, political correctness or prevailing public opinion becomes the final arbiter.” He further emphasized that Christians must multiply our efforts to reach and reeducate “a society that has forgotten the God of the Bible.”

Is the postponement of the policy decision good or bad? Hal Lane, chairman of the SCBC Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee, is optimistic. “I am hopeful that the decision by BSA leaders to delay a vote on accepting homosexuality as ‘morally straight’ behavior will result in a future vote to preserve their long history of supporting biblical principles.”

Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, used 1 Kings 18:21 to illustrate his position: “How long will you go on limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” He added, “No group can remain divided on a question of such moral importance. Homosexual conduct and relationships will be condemned or celebrated. There is no middle ground.”

In 1998, Canada decided to admit females, atheists, agnostics, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transsexuals into scouting. According to Brian Rushfeldt, president of Canada Family Action, within five years the membership dropped from 300,000 to 130,000. He said, “The notion that we need to protect homosexuals more than we need to protect children – has been a disturbing trend.”

About 70 percent of all Scout troops in the U.S. are sponsored by religious groups or churches. Southern Baptists are sixth in sponsorship, with 4,100 troops and 109,000 Scouts.

More than a political clash or ideological disagreement, this is a moral issue in which both sides cannot be right. The Scouts have followed a godly moral code for more than 100 years, and now the question is will they choose morality or money?

Both Page and SBC president Fred Luter have exhorted us to pray. SCBC president Ralph Carter said, “My prayer is that the leadership of the BSA will continue to demonstrate the kind of love for God, country and character that they have taught our youth, by withstanding the pressure from outside influences to conform to a model inconsistent with their values. I am certain the reversal of their longstanding policy will lead to the death of one of America’s most respected institutions.”