Baptists react to Boy Scouts lifting ban on gay leaders

Baptists react to Boy Scouts lifting ban on gay leaders

The Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) executive board voted July 27 to lift the Scouts’ national ban on gay adult leaders and employees — a move Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Ronnie Floyd said may hasten the exodus of Southern Baptists from Scouting.

“Sadly and regrettably, I believe churches who stand on the biblical ethic of sexuality will have to cease their sponsorship and involvement in the Boy Scouts of America,” Floyd said. “I also believe it is important that everyone understands that in reality it is the Boy Scouts of America that is walking away from their historic heritage that has been embraced by the vast majority of Americans.”

The BSA executive board approved the policy change by a 79-percent majority, the Scouts’ website reported. BSA will continue to allow troops chartered by religious organizations to exclude gays from volunteer leadership positions if homosexual behavior is incompatible with chartering organizations’ religious beliefs.

One Baptist leader told The Washington Post that concession may only be temporary, and churches could be forced eventually to accept homosexual leaders.

What might come next

Roger S. Oldham, the SBC Executive Committee’s (EC) vice president for convention communications and relations, said, “The next step, which may be a year or two down the road, seems obvious to us.” Groups with Christian convictions, he said, “are being put into a situation where they have to either compromise their conviction or choose to leave. And for those for whom biblical sexual morality is a conviction, they have no alternative.”

Legal analysts disagree on whether church-chartered troops could be liable to discrimination lawsuits for denying leadership positions to open homosexuals.

EC President Frank S. Page said the Scouts’ latest decision represents a disappointing turn from their heritage of character and faith.

“The Boy Scouts used to instill principled courage and resolute character in its members,” Page said in written comments. “Under pressure to conform to political correctness, courage withered. It deeply saddens us to see the white flag of surrender flapping in the morning breeze.”

The Los Angeles Times reported a 13 percent decline in Scouting enrollment since 2013, when BSA began loosening its policies regarding homosexual membership. The Mormon Church, which sponsors more Boy Scout troops than any other organization, is considering starting its own version of the Boy Scouts, according to TIME.

(Baptist Press, Religion News Service)