Several weeks ago, the Boy Scouts of America declared a possible policy change that would allow self-identified homosexuals to be Scout leaders. Then, last Wednesday, the Executive Board for the Boy Scouts met to make a decision on this monumental issue.
As it turned out, no sea-change occurred on this day. The determination was put off until the National Council meets this May. But given time to catch our breath, those of us who still retain sanity must wonder: How can this even be a matter of debate? Don’t the Boy Scouts of America support morality and virtue? Didn’t the Boy Scouts defend their right of associational freedom to choose leaders representing their values, all the way up to the Supreme Court?
It was just thirteen years ago that the Supreme Court upheld the Boy Scouts’ right to form leadership according to their conviction “that homosexual conduct is not morally straight.” Now, some of the leadership in the Boy Scouts are pushing for a change on this stance that would utterly transform the organization, not only affecting long-standing policy, but fundamentally altering who they are as a group.
These leaders are seeking what they depict as a compromise, claiming they want to leave it up to the local chapters to decide whether heterosexuals ought to lead a Scout troop. That’s like Chick-fil-A saying they will leave it up to local franchises whether to sell chicken. If the Boy Scouts of America embrace partial inclusion of homosexuals, they would no longer be the Boy Scouts of America, or at least no longer the group that has historically held that name.
In 1998, the Canadian Scouts overturned their policy against homosexuality and soon experienced a mass exodus. They have lost two-thirds of their membership since the policy change, despite considerable efforts to grow the program. Most do not recognize the current version as true Canadian Scouts.
The Boy Scouts of America won their case at the Supreme Court on the ground that forced inclusion of professed homosexuals would destroy the identity of the Boy Scouts. Astonishingly, not long after surviving that scare, the Boy Scouts are contemplating destroying their identity themselves.
This should be a wake-up call to us all regarding the forces at work in our politically correct culture. Who’s next? Who’s safe? This radical agenda that has infiltrated the Boy Scouts endangers every institution that cherishes traditional values, compelling unwanted compromise and change.
Not every compromise is bad and some change is inevitable. But God and His Word are not subject to change. At the Center for Religious Expression, we will continue to stand with those who stand fast in their faith. Principles can’t be compromised and neither can identity.
