Reply #76: I was a Cubmaster, and am today an ASM

[Xithras]

The important thing to remember is that there are NO employees in a Cub Scout pack or a BSA Troop. From badge counselors to Cub/Scoutmasters, everyone is an unpaid volunteer. As such, the particular pack or troop will reflect the morals and ethics of the parents who are running it.

Aside from the Mormon-run groups (which should always be avoided, because they're thinly disguised recruitment programs), I have yet to personally see a pack or troop espouse anything even remotely discriminatory. My sons Cub Scout pack was half hispanic, and easily a third of the kids had never set foot in a church in their lives. Religion, while still a part of the standard oath, is never brought into the meetings.

The problem with the BSA today is that the Mormon troops are a major funding source for the BSA, and they have threatened to split their troops and packs off into a new organization if the BSA ever backs off its official anti-gay stance. That move would cost the BSA about half of its members. The national board has continually caved to this threat. At the same time, there is no enforcement of those policies among the non-Mormon groups.

Go to the parent night, find out who's running it, and see if you can visit with your son for a meeting. If it looks acceptable to you, let him join. If not, don't. My son loves beiong a scout...and contrary to some suggestions above, he has no social problems as a result. Quite the opposite really. The scouts emphasize the development of cooperative and leadership abilities, and were pushing environmentalism on the boys long before environmentalism was cool.