Troops have them draped on flag poles and displayed across church meeting rooms… rows of Quality Unit award ribbons, often dating back for decades. The Quality Unit award has been recognized by councils for many years as one of the best ways of highlighting a top-notch Scout troop.

Did you know however, that there’s another award your pack, post or troop could be earning which also demonstrates that yours is a quality unit? It is not given by the BSA, but by your own church body. The unit religious awards are bestowed upon a troop by a church’s National Scouting Committee, and can be thought of as a religious Quality Unit recognition.

Many religious faiths that have strongly supported Scouting for years, are now going the extra step by providing their own awards for units to earn. Over the last ten years, at least seven new awards have been offered, such as the Pope Paul XII Unit Award by the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran Bishop’s Recognition of Excellence award. These awards typically are developed and administered by the respective national Scouting committee of the faith that sponsors your church.

While specific requirements vary between denominations, they all have familiar themes. Most are styled like the BSA’s Quality Unit program by providing a dozen or so achievements, and require the units to accomplish a certain percentage of them, including a few key items. Many, like the Baptist’s Unit Award of Excellence recognize the importance of the BSA’s Quality Unit award by making it the first requirement for earning their Unit Award of Excellence.

All of these recognitions require that a certain percentage of the unit’s Scouts should have already earned or be in the active process of completing their personal BSA Religious Emblem that is appropriate for their age. Fortunately, many of the awards recognize that there may be Scouts from several faiths within a unit, and so they only require that Scouts be working on the award appropriate for their home church.

Other requirements may ask that packs and troops participate in Scout Sunday, traditionally the first Sunday of February for most faiths. If the unit is away at campouts on Sundays, it should have a regular plan for conducting a vesper service and have a Chaplain Aide as well as an adult chaplain. At least once a year the unit should be involved in some kind of service project that directly benefits the church.

While the Scouts are called upon to perform most of the tasks needed to earn the award, part of the burden also falls on the shoulders of adults, both in the troop and at the sponsoring body. Historically, troops and churches/synagogues that are in constant communication and work closely together have the best relations and often make for the strongest units. In recognition of this, many of these awards require that either the Scout leader or committee chairman be active in the church, or that a certain number of the Troop Committee be made up of church members.

Even the clergy members are called upon to get involved. Among all of the various awards, one common theme calls for an annual meeting between the chartered organization representative (COR), Scoutmaster and church head. Priests, ministers and rabbis are also frequently called upon to insure that the unit’s Scouts are given an opportunity to earn their religious awards if they attend the church.

Some of the awards, like the Jewish Frank L. Weil Memorial Unit Recognition award, go a step beyond the church-unit relationship by encouraging units to get behind the council’s Friends of Scouting (FOS) effort, and recharter with the council on time.

In providing for these unit achievement recognitions, the national Scouting associations have provided many opportunities for the COR, Scout leader, committee, board of deacons, and pastor to come together to make both the unit and the church stronger.

Other national associations are likely to consider the value of these awards as a way of encouraging Scouters and religious leaders to work together. Contact your church’s national Scouting association to see if it has an award. Most of the awards listed here have an informational brochure with all of the requirements. When completed and signed by the Scout leader and pastor, rabbi, or minister, the national association typically awards a certificate or ribbon to the unit. Most also offer patches which can be purchased for individual Scout wear. Some church associations, like many Catholic Archdioceses, may want to present the award to your Scouts at a large mass where other adult and youth recognitions are handed out.

The National Unit Religious Awards and the Associations that provide them:

Pope Paul VI National Unit Recognition
National Catholic Committee on Scouting
1325 West Walnut Lane
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, Texas 75015-2079

The Lutheran Recognition of Excellence Award
The National Lutheran Association of Scouters
8520 MacKenzie Road
Saint Louis, MO 63123-3453

The Disciples Unit Award of Excellence
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Nat’l Assoc.
2004 Bluebonnet Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76111

Bishop’s Award of Excellence
National Association of United Methodist Scouters
Office of Scouting YES Ministries
P.O. Box 859
Nashville, TN 37202-0859

Baptist Unit Award of Excellence
Association of Baptists for Scouting
Order Item # 77-328
1325 West Walnut Lane
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, Texas 75015-2079

Frank L. Weil Memorial Unit Recognition Award
National Jewish Committee on Scouting
1325 West Walnut Lane
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, Texas 75015-2079
Presbyterian Unit Award of Excellence

National Association of Presbyterian Scouters
Unit Award Committee
P.O. Box 112087
Carrollton, TX 75011-2087

You will also find additional resources at the SCOUTER Net Compass Religous Awards category.