Although it is a step in the right direction, the "new" policy of the BSA with regards to religious groups
will be continue to be a stumbling point across the breadth of Scouting in the USA.
... not just a policy issue, but a legal issue and a financial issue.
The following article is a pretty good discussion, starting with the LDS church,
and continuing with other legal, religious, and social leaders.
Mormons hint they may bolt Boy Scouts
CBS/AP July 28, 2015, 4:08 AM
Quote:
<snip>
The Mormon church, which sponsors more Scout units that any other organization,
said it was "deeply troubled" by the decision. Church officials suggested they
would look into the possibility of forming their own organization to replace the Boy Scouts.
Several denominations that collectively sponsor close to half of all Scout units
- including the Roman Catholic Church, the Mormon church and the Southern Baptist Convention -
have been apprehensive about ending the ban on gay adults.
The BSA's top leaders have pledged to defend the right of any church-sponsored units
to continue excluding gays as adult volunteers.
But that assurance has not satisfied some conservative church leaders.
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But...
Quote:
"It's hard for me to believe, in the long term, that the Boy Scouts will allow religious groups
to have the freedom to choose their own leaders," said the Rev. Russell Moore,
president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.<snip>
Stuart Upton, a lawyer for the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal, questioned whether
the BSA's new policy to let church-sponsored units continue to exclude gay adults would be sustainable.
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And over the past few years...
Quote:
The BSA faced potential lawsuits in New York and other states if it continued to enforce its ban,
which had been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.
Since then, the exclusionary policy has prompted numerous major corporations
to suspend charitable donations to the Scouts, and has strained relations
with some municipalities that cover gays in their non-discrimination codes.
Like several other major youth organizations, the Boy Scouts have experienced
a membership decline in recent decades. Current membership, according to the BSA,
is about 2.4 million boys
<snip>
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