Christian Churches Warned of Boy Scout Legal Risks

Christian Churches Warned of Boy Scout Legal Risks

Christian churches are being warned that if they continue to sponsor Boy Scout troops, they are opening themselves to multiple legal challenges that could affect whether they can "freely preach the Gospel."  The Boy Scouts of America's newly adopted membership policy  -  in which youths no longer will be blocked from joining the Scouts based on "sexual orientation or preference alone"  -  is "a sweeping change to its core values,"  said Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal defense organization.

The policy change has legal ramifications for religious chartering groups, potentially exposing them to lawsuits if they continue to sponsor troops while seeking to maintain the traditional Christian teaching that homosexual behavior is immoral.

"That's our basic concern  -  that it weakens the church's freedom of religion and freedom of association arguments on that point,"  he said, adding that churches may need to separate from the Boy Scouts of America to "protect their right to freely preach the Gospel" and "be a witness to our nations' youth."  In response, Deron Smith, a Boy Scouts spokesman, said most of this kind of commentary "is based on speculation" and inaccurately states that the Boy Scouts organization has made a fundamental shift in vaues or is attempting to cause division within Scouting.

"We believe most people have grown tired of those who seek to use Scouting, an organization whose mission is to serve young people to advance their own agendas," Mr. Smith said.
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