Some Thoughts on the Boy Scouts

by Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D.

The problem is not about admitting homosexual boys; it’s about the transmission of an Ideology. 

Should homosexually oriented boys be admitted into the Boy Scouts?  ”Yes,” I’ve often said, because boys with same-sex attractions could benefit greatly from male bonding experiences.

Then what is the source of the conflict?

Youth groups provide an important rite of passage for boys growing into manhood.  In fact, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) never did exclude same-sex attracted members—  their policy was “don’t ask, don’t tell,” like the policy once held by the military.

That worked well until gay activists insisted that boys should enter the Scouts with a “gay is who I am” mentality.

Gay activists successfully played it to the press that the BSA was discriminating against homosexual boys—  that they didn’t want them.

But the BSA should have fought for what they really stood for: that all boys are welcome, but that the BSA will continue to promote the Judeo-Christian understanding of human identity and biological design.

People with a worldview rooted in traditional faith see homosexuality as a superficial layer of personal identity. Same-sex orientation is seen by them as evidence of trauma..as a problematic attraction…as a chosen identity that is disconnected from biological reality. A person’s truest and deepest identity is ultimately heterosexual, which will put him in harmony with his design. This is the worldview shared by traditional Christians, traditional Jews, Muslims, and Ba’hai, among other faiths.  Their worldview cannot simply be discounted as “prejudice” rooted in “animus.”

But gay activists believe that a gay identity must be accepted by everyone as that particular person’s nature.  Yet people of traditional faith are confident that on a deeper, truer level, these boys were created for something greater.

That’s not an easy concept to argue, in an age where every individual is said to be free to choose his own identity—  male, female, non-binary gender, “questioning,” bisexual, gay or straight. In today’s world, it seems like a slap in the face to tell someone, ‘This can’t be who you really are.’”

The Problem of Gay Scout Leaders

What’s going to happen with the new Scout policy of accepting gay-identified Scout leaders?  What will you say when you see a gay leader encouraging the boys to “discover who they are” with the idea that they, too may be gay?” Because this will inevitably happen.

One could argue that the Boy Scouts are a-sexual.  They don’t talk about sex.  They’re not allowed to.

But this issue is not about sex— it’s about the transmission of an ideology.  When gay activists get into positions of Scout leadership, they will, naturally, want to serve as role models. They will be on a mission to insist that homosexuality is the same as heterosexuality.  They’ll talk about their belief that children don’t need two married biological parents.  They’ll introduce the boys to their partner or ‘husband.’ They will present their lives as examples, and themselves as role models.

That approach will teach not just that this particular, individual Scout leader has qualities to emulate (which no doubt is true; the gay Scout leader may have many good character qualities), but it mixes up the example of his personal character with his homosexuality, and sends the message that homosexuality itself is good.

People have caved in on this issue; in our schools, our youth organizations, the media, movies, government— the psychological and medical professions…everywhere; the accepted view is that the traditional understanding of human identity is “hatred.” Almost no one is left to speak the truth about human design and purpose.

For people of traditional faith, new Scouting alternatives are being created. One good alternative to look into is Trail Life USA.