World still demon haunted.

I think it is a sad day for America. They have fought & fought against this & just like everyone else they caved. Why would they even want to be apart of something that stands against everything they believe in? It is just another way for satan to get a toehold & take away the rights of God fearing Christians. Now the Boy Scouts no longer stand for the things they were originally founded on just like our sad country. It's past time to pray people & pray hard.

- Facebook comment poster Misti Witt of Oxford, Colorado, on May 23, 2013 at 9:48 p.m. regarding a decision of the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay scouts (but not gay leaders) to participate in scouting.

I won't dignify the substance of this comment with a full response (although I did post one this Facebook page).  Suffice it to say that I disagree.  But, the style of the response is really far more interesting.

Most Americans believe in God. Many Americans attend a church, at least irregularly. But, very few actually interpret events they encounter in life through the lens of cosmic struggles in the here and now between Satan and "God fearing Christians."

People in my world, even the pious religious believers in God who regularly attend religious services, just don't practice their religion in that way.  People in my world, regardless of their religious beliefs, don't have that kind of worldview and don't have that way of responding to it. It was a bit of a shock to see that apparently, even in the 21st century on the Internet, there are people who still do see the world in that way.

Most of my most religious extended family members almost all express their beliefs within the context of one of the several Lutheran denominations, or Roman Catholicism, or some subdivision of the Anglican Church.  Even the few who are part of immigrant churches or who are affiliated with Evangelical denominations rarely invoke "Satan" as an active force in current events in the world.

I don't think that individuals who see the world the way that Ms. Witt do are very common.  In particular, I don't even think that individuals who see the world this way make up the bulk of people who are opposed to gay rights.  But, I acknowledge that my perception of this may biased by my own set of acquaintances and mental filters and information browsing habits.

Saying No To Scouting

The Cub Scouts made a pitch for their organization at my son's elementary school. The prospect naturally excites him. He likes craft projects, camping, and a lot of other things that Cub Scouts do. I was a Cub Scout and eventually became an Eagle Scout myself, and I got a lot out of the experience. I understand why he would want to do it.

But, it is very hard for me to say "yes" in good conscience.

The Cub Scouts are a subdivision of the Boy Scouts of America. Just as I was finishing scouting, and around the time I was starting to have very serious doubts about my religious upbringing (but before I was ready to publicly identify myself as an atheist), scouting took a turn for the worse. (I'm not alone in thinking so. Cub Scout membership is down 20% since 1997 despite growth in the population of approriate aged boys, and Boy Scout membership is down 8%, despite the fact that those who do participate are staying in longer.)

Today, I am ineligible to be a scout leader, because I am atheist. Two member's of Denver's delegation in Colorado's General Assembly are ineligible for those leadership positions because they are homosexual. The same applies to some of my fellow school parents, to many of my clients, to many of my political colleagues in the Democratic party.

I also don't want to teach my son to be dishonest to fit in, either personally or by my own example.

The turn for the worse in the Boy Scouting organization hurts. It is like learning that your childhood mentor is a child molestor. The organization, which once supported families, now tears them apart. The organization, which once support tolerance and positive values, now has become an instrument of a national hate machine.

The Boy Scouts places a premium on upholding high ethical standards. But, its conduct is deplorable. Its policies exclude more people than the entire membership of the Southern Baptist Convention, and its reasons for doing so make no sense. Why should an organization that claims that Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Jews can co-exist and meet its values, exclude secular humanists? Why should an organization exclude people who are born with the sexual orientation that they have?

Honestly, I don't appreciate the fact that my local school contributed to putting me in this bind. We don't let churches evangelize in our schools, and this state has non-discrimination policies. It isn't appropriate. I won't sue. Maybe someone else will. What's done is done. I've tried to explain things in terms as kid friendly as I can, so he understands that I'm not simply being mean.

If the Boy Scouts of America were to abandon its path of discrimination, intolerance and hate, I'd happily return to the fold. But, for now, BSA is not morally straight and in good conscience, I have to say no to scouting.