= AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON "REVERENCE" IN SCOUTING = by Jim Howes [76264,2124], April 1, 1992 Whether one agrees or not with the position of the Boy Scouts of America that belief in God is an essential part of the Scouting program to build character and instill positive values in youth, a review of treasured Scouting memorabilia from the past discloses that historically this view has often been presented in Scouting literature, whenever the Scout Law ("A Scout is Reverent") and the Scout Oath "to do my Duty to God" are discussed. Both the Scout Law and Oath are mandatory for BSA members. For example, in its *HANDBOOK FOR BOYS*, of which over 30,000,000 have been printed since 1910, the Fifth edition (1948) explained the phrase "morally straight" in the Scout Oath or Promise this way: "George Washington said that morality cannot be lasting without religion. A morally straight Scout knows how to love and serve God in the way He wants him to...On Mt. Sinai God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments. He laid down certain definite Laws for all. Not to steal, not to lie, not to abuse your body are some of these Laws. Keeping these Commandments is an important step towards being morally straight..." . Similarly, the *HANDBOOK* had this to say about "Reverent": "Reverence is that respect, regard, consideration, courtesy, devotion, and affection you have for some person, place, or thing because it is holy? The Scout shows true reverence in two ways. First, you pray to God, you love God and you serve Him. Secondly, in your everyday actions, you help other peo- ple, because they are made by God to God's own likeness. "The 'unalienable rights' in our historic Declaration of In- dependence, come from God. All your life you will be associ- ating with people of other beliefs and customs. It is your duty to respect these people for their beliefs and customs, and to live your own." - (c) BSA, 1948 Relevant to the issue of admitting atheists (or those who refuse to say the Oath's "Duty to God" provision) to Boy Scouts is the philosophy espoused by the Founder of Scouting, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, O.B.E., in official scouting literature written by him during the time he was Chief Scout of the World (1910-1941). While it is true that no one has deified Baden-Powell, nor even beatified him (at least by church canon, although his works have richly earned him the sobriquet "the sainted B-P" and he does have a memorial plaque in London's Westminster Abbey), he, as the creator of scouting, composed the Boy Scout Oath at issue. It is thus highly instructive to see what HE said about a scout's Duty to God and why HE included it in the Oath HE wrote and used, since HE, after all, invented Scouting in the 1st place! Baden-Powell's book *ROVERING TO SUCCESS*, a 1930 handbook for British Rover Scouts, is an excellent source for understanding the goals and philosophies of scouting espoused by the founder of the movement himself, for two principle reasons: It was written in 1930, after B-P had seen scouting grow and mature into a world-wide association over a twenty-year span, hence he had the benefit of many years experience and reflection; secondly, "Rovers" is the branch of scouting (in many countries other than the U.S.) for boys over age 18 to mid- twenties. As such, it's on a more mature level for a serious view of B-P's scouting philosophy. "Rovering to Success" begins by recounting, in the colorful writing style that captured boys' imaginations in the pre-MTV era, the time he paddled a birch- bark canoe across a lake in upper Canada. He develops this parable saying: "The whole thing--the early voyage through the easy running stream, and then coming out on the broad lake, the arising of difficulties, the succession of waves and rocks only avoided by careful piloting, the triumph of overcoming the dangers, the successful sliding into a sheltered landing place, the happy campfire and the sleep of tired men at night--is just what a man goes through in life." This he calls the Voyage of Life. In paddling one's canoe on the "...adventurous voyage from the stream of child- hood, along the river of adolescence, out across the ocean of manhood", he warns of the dire need to avoid foundering on certain "Rocks", i.e., dangerous hazards/ deleterious influences, in the lives of Scouts which, unless avoided, interfere with the scout's goal of achieving happiness in life..."the only true success". These "Rocks" are then expounded upon by B-P in the chapters that follow: Chapter Title Topics discussed ------------- ---------------- (1) "HORSES" Gambling, lack of thrift, indolence, etc. (2) "WINE" Alcohol abuse, gluttony, foul language, etc. (3) "WOMEN" Venereal diseases, irresponsible sexual conduct (4) "CUCKOOS & HUMBUGS" Demagoguery, snobbery, jingoism, etc. (5) "IRRELIGION" Atheism and irreligion* *(quoting from introduction to this chapter): "The dark side of this rock is the danger of atheism and irreligion. Its bright side is its realization of God and Service to Brother Men. To this the study of Nature is a direct help." (Then follows B-P's own chapter outline): "Irreligion: atheism is being pressed on young men; irreligion is prevalent; religion is essential to happiness. Nature lore: Safeguards against atheism; God's work in Nature gives the lie to atheists; Nature knowledge is a step to realizing God." B-P goes on to say, "There are a good many men who have no religion, who don't believe in God; they are known as atheists...If you are really out to make your way to success--i.e., happiness--you must not only avoid being sucked in by irreligious humbugs, you must have a religious basis to your life. Religion very briefly stated means: recognizing who and what is God; secondly, making the best of the life that He has given one and doing what He wants of us." The rest of the chapter on "Irreligion" is devoted to various measures to help scouts "avoid atheism", to use B-P's repeated phrase, such as experiencing the grandeur of Nature as a (again quoting) "step towards realizing God", to which he adds, "I advocate the understanding of Nature as a step, in certain cases, towards gaining religion." The 274-page book goes on to discuss, with several examples and quotations, how first-hand experience of Nature's wonders can help one understand God. For example, he quotes Abraham Lincoln: "I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon earth and be an atheist, but I do not see how he can look up into the heavens by night and say there is no God." as well as the Koran: "Seest thou not that all in the heavens and all on the earth serveth God; the sun, the moon, the stars, and the mountains and the trees and the beasts and many men" Commenting on the inspiration he drew from the outdoors, he wrote: "I love the homely beauty of the English countryside as I do the vast open- ness and freedom of the rolling veld in South Africa. I love the rushing waters and the nodding forests of Canada; but I have been more awed by the depths and heights of the Himalayas and by the grandeur of those eternal snows lifting their peaked heads high above the world, never de- filed by the foot of man, but reaching of all things worldly the nearest to the Heavens." He mused that perhaps the reason so many of the world's peoples at such high elevations are Buddhists is "the mountains almost talk you into it. In the quiet of the night you listen to their voices; you are drawn into the brooding immensity all round you. In warm cities, where men huddle together, one must have something to cling to--- a per- sonal Saviour, a lantern in a sure and kindly hand, comforting voices in the dark. But here ...there is a mystic purpose in Nature...". It makes demonstrably clear the fact that B-P was strongly opposed to atheism and would turn over in his grave at the thought of atheists as scout leaders or permitting Scouts to omit "Duty to God" from their Scout Oath. While it may be argued that these ideas are outdated, or that scouting in the 1990's should change with the times to maintain its relevance, there is ample historical evidence that Scouting's founder regarded atheism as something to be avoided, as foreign to the ideals of scouting: individual happiness, fulfill- ment, and service to fellow man through doing one's duty to God. This has been scouting's core belief and its founding purpose since the beginning of the movement. Viewed in this light, the current insistence of the Boy Scouts of America that its members adhere to the Scout Oath's "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my Country..." is merely remaining true to scouting's basic founding spirit. Why should a scout pledge his Duty to God? In the words of Baden-Powell: "Religion is essential to happiness. This is not a mere matter of going to church, knowing Bible history, or understanding theology. Religion ...means recognising who and what is God, secondly, making the best of the life that He has given one and doing what He wants of us. This is mainly doing something for other people." All that scouting seeks to impart to our young people...striving to do one's best and to do a good turn daily... flow naturally and logically from this founding purpose of scouting, to equip boys as they embark on their Voyage of Life. ###