If they get political cop-outs from their pledges, then so do I.
[1] unclean: "We believe that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the requirement in the Scout Oath that a Scout be morally straight and in the Scout Law that a Scout be clean in word and deed, and that homosexuals do not provide a desirable role model for Scouts.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-699.ZO.html
[2] rapists: E.g., http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gordon-klingenschmitt-bo...
[3] To their credit, BSA has since modernized its policy and, hopefully, this remains a minority voice. But still, a large and vocal minority IME.
I don't think anyone has a problem with the former. But yes, the latter is... worthy of criticism, especially from engineers and scientists who pay attention to things like empirical counter-examples. Maybe not bigoted, but also clearly false.
I guess you don't know many engineers, or you only know software engineers in Silicon Valley or something. Engineers, in my experience, and especially the non-software kind, tend to be extremely religious. In fact, studies have found that many middle eastern terrorists come from engineering backgrounds. The engineers I've worked with have been overwhelmingly conservative, and frequently religious. (Those that weren't conservative were usually libertarian.)
Yeah, your typical Millennial programmer in the Bay Area probably isn't religious at all, but hang around some 40+ mechanical or electrical engineers and you'll see an entirely different crowd, with probably a lot of Trump supporters.
Religious belief is also sometimes required to become an Eagle Scout. See e.g.,
https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/10/03/belief-in-god-s...
"We have all likely heard horror stories of boys being asked in their Eagle Scout board of review about how they have done their “duty to God,” only to have the youth say they don’t believe in God. Equally disappointing is the example I heard of recently of an Eagle Scout who publicly admitted that he simply lied when asked about “duty to God” in his board of review."
The position that "you can define god however you want!" is common, and I'm not really sure how that position is any less dishonest than just straight up lying about believing in God. It's also not the case that you can always take on a leadership position -- any leadership position -- in the scouts without belief in God. There seems to be a myriad of opinions and practices, ranging from openly accepting to openly hostile. But the assertion that you can be always be a scout -- let alone take on leadership positions -- while being openly atheist doesn't match my experience.
> As a former scout (an Eagle Scout)
As a former scout who dropped out well before becoming an Eagle Scout in large part because my religious beliefs were unambiguously unwelcome locally, and IMO also nationally, I disagree.
Sorry to hear that was your experience. I started scouting in the midwest (where everyone assumed you were a christian weather you were or not) and moved to the Seattle area (where nobody cared). I never had anyone shove a bible in my face and demand I witness.
It's very common in 12 step methods. The text uses the term "higher power" - I think most people have their God as their higher power, others use their sober self, or something else they care greatly about.
To register with the Boy Scouts of America, a potential merit badge counselor must complete the BSA's Adult Application form
To quote from that form, as linked from the same page:
Excerpt From Declaration of Religious Principle The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but it is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the home and organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. Only persons willing to subscribe to these precepts from the Declaration of Religious Principle and to the Bylaws of the Boy Scouts of America shall be entitled to register
and the applicant explicitly signs that I have read and affirm that I accept the Declaration of Religious Principle