Hi guys, tonight I went to a meeting/presentation about the road of Life to Eagle. The presenter talked about how you need a letter of reference from multiple places, one of which being a religious person. The next slide said that the religious reference is very important.

Please help. I do not know what to do.

My son is a new Webelos, and I am a atheist Eagle Scout. While earning my award, I was figuring out about my beliefs, and later in adulthood I am a proud atheist. While I am an adult volunteer, and committee member, I am worried as my son has never answered questions about religion. I am opting for handling the Webelos requirement option 2 for duty to god. But how do I get him ready for the big show(boy scouts)? With the new emphasis on duty to god, and his question all mentality towards religion, I am not sure where to head on this. He has goals of Philmont and Eagle Scout. Any input would be great.

I will be conducting my Board of Review this week, and I want to know how best to approach it, especially in respect to the religious questions I expect to be asked.

I was honest in the board of review and told the reviewers that I was an Atheist, and they passed me. The Greater Los Angeles Area Council is one for the more progressive districts, so that may have had something to do with it. Full disclosure, I sent a rather pointed letter (via email) to national explaining that I was an Atheist, working on my Eagle Scout about 6 months ago and never heard back.

I am willing to give advice to other scouts who are in a similar situation to what mine was.

I'd also love to hear from others' stories.

Hey all!

I am a student film-maker, working on a thesis level documentary about non-theists within the Boy Scouts of America!

I'm looking for people who are willing to talk with me about their experiences with religion and scouting! This can be positive or negative, bleak or heart-warming - I'm looking to explore both sides of the coin. As an Eagle Scout myself, and a guy who's all for tolerance and equality, I'd love to hear what you all have to offer.

If you're open to talking, please either reply below or message me directly through Reddit! I hope to hear from you guys!

• Mark

I am an atheist and I wanted to know some options for my religious letter. I live in a pretty religious area, so outright stating I'm an atheist probably won't go too well. So, what are some alternatives? Would they accept answers like being a Pantheist or a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? Am I better off just lying and saying I'm a Christian who doesn't attend church?

Found this thread when I was planning my eagle court and was bored and searched eagle scouts on reddit. Found this one and two others. While I'm not atheist myself, I do believe proper discussion is important about just topics in general and I have found that most of the people who are actually open to conversation tend to not be super for or against religion which seems to be an accurate statement for this sub reddit! Nice to see people questioning things :)

Who has been denied their eagle scout because of their religion?

My scout master was warning me that our local council had started asking questions about religion during the boards, and if you said you didn't believe in a god, you would fail.

91.67% is still a passing grade!

Hey, I've joined your ranks guys!

I've always speculated on whether the LDS has a big sway in BSA national policy since they make up over 1/3 of scouting units in the United States. I've also heard speculation on how the ban on gay scouts was lifted because of the 2012 election where Mitt Romney (a Mormon) was running against Obama and they did not want to potentially stir up a liberal hornets nest by antagonizing BSA at that point. All speculation, I have no proof of this, but I'm curious if anyone else gets the feeling that LDS is holding back BSA, whereas Scouting in other countries is very progressive, secular, and skills/citizenship focused instead of being more heavily tied to religion like it is here.

Thoughts?

After an eleven year Scouting career (Cub Scouts included), a fight with brain cancer and depression, I earn my rank of Eagle this afternoon. I'm in shock, I never thought I would make it this far. To my brother Eagles, carry the standard well.

I am on the list for the Board of Review. I have been thinking about what to say and what they will ask me, ever since I started the Eagle Process. Obviously, the god and belief question frightens me. I have no desire to lie or cheat through the question. In some ways I feel it's better to stand up for what I believe in. I feel that I've shown myself to be an exemplary leader and a good person. I've also thought of saying my beliefs have changed and will continue to change, without noting anything in particular. I really don't want to lie or hide the truth but, is there any other option?

TL;DR Worried about how to answer "The Question" on the Board of Review. I don't want to lie or hide the truth, what other options are there?

http://www.gofundme.com/zp3xug My name is Joe G., and I was heavily involved with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for many years. I am an Eagle Scout, and Vigil Honor Member of the Order of the Arrow (OA). When I was in scouts, Joined the Order of the Arrow, Scoutings National Honor Society. I never knew what I was getting into. The OA became my family, Shaped me to become the man I am today and it saved my life. If it wasn't for my brothers in the Order, My type 1 diabetes would have gone undiagnosed until it was to late and I would have succumbed to a diabetic coma. The first people I came out to were my brothers in the OA, and they supported me and elected me Lodge Chief of our Local Lodge. I served on the Lodges's ceremonial team from for 7 years, until the culture wars hit home. In 2011 I left the Boy Scouts of America due to their Ban on Gay Scouts and Scouters. the people who supported me throughout my scouting career were now joined by people who were equally hateful as my friends and mentors were helpful. I did not feel I could be in the BSA without hiding myself again. Now I am the Chapter Lead for the Scouts for Equality organization in my Council helping make the BSA an equal place for all. This year, 2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Order of the Arrow, it also marks the possible day discrimination ends in the BSA. On the 27th the BSA will be voting on whether to lift the ban. unfortunately this comes too late for most gay scouts and scouters who had dedicated their lives to scouting and the order before the ban started to be more regularly enforced, This means when the conference starts August 3rd, that not one person affected by the ban would have been able to register to attend the 100th Anniversary as an official participant. Even if the ban is lifted, SFE has more work to do making sure every scout has a safe and inclusive unit and to educate the BSA on LGBT issues. That is why I intend to go up to the Campus of Michigan State University, in East Lansing Michigan, and celebrate with my brothers the end of this ban. I want to be there to distribute information for Scouts for Equality and thank an organization that has been so critical to my life. This is in fact a once in a lifetime oppurtunity. Unfortunately, medication costs make it hard to save money for such a trip. Not to mention, as a diabetic I can't skip any meals to help pay. I would not be asking for help if I could do it alone. That is why any money not spent on the trip will be donated back to the Scouts for Equality nonprofit. If you would like to make a donation to SFE directly please do so here. https://www.scoutsforequality.org/ I thank you from the bottom of my heart. With loyalty in Brotherhood and Cheerfulness in Service, Joe G.

I just got done with my board of review. My first time in the room, they didn't touch religion. My second time, we had a productive 30 minute conversation. When I walked in to receive my decision, they all looked away from me and did not smile. It was one of the most frightening moments of my life, but then they all said congratulations. Looking back, it was not fun and it's easy to lie, but in the end, if you say what you feel honestly, the risk is greater, but the reward is unbelievable. Good luck to everyone else out there!

/r/eaglescouts is not a religious sub, it is a sub of eaglescouts, who in my experience are independent, thoughtful and inclusive people generally, especially the one on reddit.

I am an athiest and an eagle scout, but I feel like this subreddit is just self segregating for no reason. there's no /r/CatholicEagleScouts. Did something happen in /r/eaglescouts that turned you guys off? what's the deal?

These subreddit are each so small and have such little content, why not just combine the two?

I passed my BoR. The district rep pretty much just asked what I thought duty to god meant and I just said it was being a moral, compassionate person (as empathy is where morality derives from), and that we need to respect the cosmos that "god" has created. Worked out fine. Thanks for the help you guys! :)

If I say I'm a Buddhist (I'm an atheist who puts in many Buddhist philosophical ideas in my life), will the adults ask me how god fits in my life? Buddhism makes no claim to a deity. How should I go through this? Should I just bullshit this?

My BoR is this coming Tuesday.

Today I not only join Eagle, but I also join the smaller number of atheist Eagles.