President of UUA "Disappointed" in Boy Scouts' Response
Open letter, John Buehrens to all Unitarian Universalists,
concerning the Boy Scouts of America Religion in Life Award
October 23, 1998
Dear Unitarian Universalists:
A number of you have inquired about our attempts to work with the Boy
Scouts of America. We did have a cordial meeting at the end of September.
We are posting on this site the letter I wrote following that meeting,
along with the reply that I received only today from the chair of the BSA
Religious Relationships Committee, Dr. Smith. Despite what the BSA
and the UUA had agreed to in the September meeting, Dr. Smith's response
to me shows that the BSA attitude toward religious diversity remains less
than warmly welcoming to Unitarian Universalists and others who consider
doubt, as well as piety, as a potential part of “duty to God.” I am personally
disappointed in Dr. Smith’s response to me.
I had hoped that we might be invited to join the Religious Relationships
Committee. More and more local United Way organizations, foundations, religious
groups, and the volunteer network called “Scouting for All” also join us
in being critical of the BSA's national policy of discimination based on
sexual orientation. Even local Scout Councils are calling on the national
BSA to allow local parents and volunteers to determine who is appropriate
as a volunteer or a Scout.
The Unitarian Universalist Association will not give up on the Boy Scouts
of America, although we remain gravely concerned about the way in which
they are handling a number of issues.
When Matthew Shephard,
21, was brutally murdered in Laramie, WY, it was noted that Matt
had been active as a boy in Scouts. When a fundamentalist minister from
Kansas came to Matt’s funeral in Casper with signs saying things like “God
hates fags,” local businessman Steve Peryam came to object, to hand out
yellow ribbons and stickers with the word “hate” and a slash through it.
“I knew Matt,” he told reporters. “I was his Scout leader, my son went
to school with him, and when I first heard about this, I just prayed it
wasn’t him because he was such a fine, fine young man. So now I’m out here
to say this shouldn’t happen, to make a statement, to not be silent, because
that’s the worst crime.”
Here’s another sad fact: Russ Henderson, one of the young men accused
of beating Matt brutally and leaving him tied to a fencepost to die, was
also an active Boy Scout as a teen. He earned 21 merit badges and was an
Eagle Scout. Would to God that he had learned to respond to slurs and fears
about sexual orientation with something other than hatred and violence!
The UUA already has such teaching for its own youth. We’re willing to
help others learn. We are willing to help the Boy Scouts. The BSA, and
the world at large, will continue to receive one clear and consistent message
from Unitarian Universalism: we teach our own youth to value the worth
and dignity of every person; we are willing to help others do so.
Yours faithfully,
John A. Buehrens
President
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