- The announcement by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Boy Scouts didn’t come as a complete surprise after the religion last year removed 185,000 boys between the ages of 14 and 18, signaling that an end to the long-time alliance was near.
Joining the Boy Scouts is practically automatic among Mormon boys, and the religion has long been the biggest sponsor of Boy Scout troops in the United States. The Mormon boys who will be leaving represent about 18.5 percent of the 2.3 million youth in the organization.
The Mormon church said in a statement that the move is about creating its own youth program that it can use for its increasingly global membership, but the two organizations’ values clearly have been diverging in recent years.
The Boy Scouts decided in 2015 to allow gay troop leaders and announced last year it would allow girls in its ranks. Last week, the organization said it will change the name of its flagship program next year to Scouts BSA to account for the inclusion of girls.
Like other conservative faiths, the Mormon church opposes gay marriage and teaches that being in a homosexual relationship is a sin. The church initially said it was “deeply troubled” by the Boy Scouts’ policy change on gays but stayed with the organization after receiving assurances it could appoint troop leaders according to its own religious and moral values.
Whoa. The Mormons kept the BSA alive because they didn't split a few years ago.
I got to see the best of side of scouting -- I joined a troop as it was taking a turn towards more high adventure camping, while there were a bunch of adults involved who did a great job of encouraging youth leadership while there were a great group of boys leading and a good community add more members. After I was out, after the BSA made an official decision to allow openly gay members, the troop disbanded, mostly because the church chartering the troop wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole, and there weren't enough people involved who really wanted to continue to move the troop to a new charter organization. I hope I'm able to find some organization like the troop I was in if I have kids.