Appropriate Questions at BOR

[rdn51]

My son recently had a Board of Review for his Star advancement. My son is 12 and at this board, an assistant scout master (who in September of this year will become Scoutmaster) asked him in front of the rest of the board if he attended church regularly and if not why not. He also told him that he had to know that belief in God is required for scouting.

When he told me this later, I felt that this was extremenly inappropriate, especially in front of the rest of the board. While my son does not regualrly attend church, he does bible study and also assists as a helper at a local methodist church vacation bible school each year at their request. As far as I know, attendance at church is not required for scouting, only a belief in God and a strong sense of spirituality, which my son does have. What can I do about this? Do the rest of you think that this kind of questioning is inappropriate also?

[SemperParatus]

First, a SM/ASM should not be in a BOR...that was wrong and is against BSA advancement policies. Attendance at church is not required by scouting. I believe your ASM was attempting to promote a discussion of the 12th point of the Scout Law, but screwed it up. He either doesn't understand the BSA's policies on religious observance, has chosen to ignore them or is not too bright. I hope your son explained his bible study classes and VBS volunteership. What can you do about it? Go to your Committee Chair and share your concerns, as well as the BSA policy that SM/ASM are not committee members eligible to sit on a BOR.

[evmori]

Semper is correct.

 

Church attendance is not a BSA requirement. Belief in God is. Whenever I sit on a BOR, one of the 1st questions I ask a Scout is if he believes in God.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Trevorum]

Semper and Ed are both correct.

 

However, please remember that BSA does not define what constitutes belief in God or the practice of religion, leaving this to the Scout and his family. This means that a belief in the God of the Judeo-Christian majority is NOT a requirement.

[Prairie_Scouter]

Agree with the above. However, since the membership form states agreement in belief in a God, I think that this has already been established, and there is no need to question this in a BOR, any more than you should be asking the Scout to tie a square knot.

[FScouter]

Perhaps a less focused question would be more appropriate, such as "How do you demonstrate the 12th point of the Scout Law in your daily life?"

[EagleInKY]

FS is right on. This is the best way to open the discussion. It doesn't tie it to church attendance, but lets the scout explain it from his perspective. In the Eagle BORs I've served on, this is normal line of questions.

[Bob White]

While you cannot ask the scout to tie a square knot to prove he knows how to do it, you can ask him "if" he has tied a square knot, and how he used it. The BOR has the responsibility to make sure that the requirement was met.

 

FS is correct, ask the scout how he is reverent in his life, and how he fulfills his obligation of Duty to God. Those questions are perfectly legitimate topics for a BoR, and they are legitimate reasons for delaying advancement if the scout is not able to show that he has completed the related requirement.

[evmori]

When I ask "Do you believe in God?" all I am expecting is a yes or no. Yes we go on. No we stop.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Bob White]

Believing in God is a requirement for membership, the BoR is not responsible for establishing membership.

 

Showing reverence to God and performing Duty to God are advancement requirements and are directlly related to personal growth, and as such fall under the purposes of the BoR.

[Prairie_Scouter]

FScouter,

If a BOR member wanted to cover that issue, I think your suggestion would be a good way to handle it.

[LPC_Thumper]

Nice discussion. As an Eagle B of R Chair, I ask the boys about the Scout Law. I ask them to explain how they live by the points. If they stumble on how the live "A Scout is reverent" I ask them what that means to them. Some times I hear about weekly church attendance, other times I hear about weakly church attendance, but lots of time thinking about what they can do to make the world a better place. Anything along this line gets a smile and a nod. If they don't get this, we work towards understanding that there are lots of ways to do one's "duty to God".

[dan]

I see nothing wrong with the question. It is a simple question with a yes or no answer. A star scout should be able to explain how he is reverent without going to church.

 

rdn51

Who is the Charted Organization for this unit?

[fgoodwin]

I agree that askign which church one attends is not appropriate and in any case, an SM / ASM shouldn't be at the BOR anyway.

 

I would also add that I am a Fundamentalist and a Born-Again believer, but I too feel that it is not appropriate to ask "do you believe in God?" A Hindu or Buddhist Scout might very well answer "no"!

 

I think it better to ask what the Twelfth Point of the Scout Law means to the candidate, or to ask him how does one do one's "duty to God".

[evmori]

My question is what I use in my unit for BOR's. And it is a valid question. If the Scout answers no, how can he pass his BOR? How is the Scout living his everyday life according to the Scout Oath & Law if he has no belief in God?

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10