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Duty To God is the first phrase in the first part of the Scout Oath. A Scout is Reverent is the 12th point of the Scout Law. As the "last" point, it might be considered the least important, but faith is, in fact, foundational. As a bit of Bible trivia, the number 12 generally refers to government (the 12 Tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles). Just a thought.
While the Boy Scouts of America are non-sectarian about how one interacts with a divine being, creator, God, (fill in your favorite term here), they have been adamant about having a belief in one
from the beginning with B-P. Read more* about his views on faith.
Being chartered by the Park Forest Village United Methodist Church, Troop 50 takes some measure of pride in building up an awareness of a Scout(er)'s Duty To God and Reverence. At the same time, we are also excited about the fact that the Scouts in the troop represent a wide variety of faith groups. This is more and more the case in troops all over the country. We take pains to promote all manner of opportunities for Scouts to investigate the religious heritage they bring from home as well as learning about the belief systems of others, so that each may demonstrate appropriate respect for these differing beliefs.
As B-P has noted, being in intimate contact with nature opens a boy up to the wonders of creation, which in turn, point to the wonders of the Creator. We hope to give each Scout additional tools to better understand the world in which he lives in all its myriad facets: from the physical--did you know that there is only one molecule difference between hemoglobin and chlorophyll?--to the emotional--watching a bird hatching or a butterfly emerging from its cocoon--to the deeply spiritual--those precious moments when a Scout just knows from what he's experiencing that he's part of something much, much greater. In no way do we intend to replace the religious instruction a Scout gets from home or his place of worship; just a bit of help now and again, seeing things from a more spiritual, foundational perspective.
There are all kinds of spiritually oriented activities available: from chapel services (conducted by the scouts), to religious awards recognizing a Scout's study of his religious roots, to service projects of all kinds...even the Scoutmaster's Minute (or 5 Minutes, or ...). In fact, all you really need to do is look at the Scout Oath/Promise and Scout Law. Learning to live by these two standards goes a very long way in teching a young man how to live according to the greatest Commandments.
We look forward to serving you, serving with you and learning from you something more about the wonders of creation. And celebrating joyously the wonder of creation that you are!
Building a greater awareness of a Scout(er)'s Duty To God,
I am
Jeffrey MD Stormer, MAR
Troop Chaplain
and Assistant Scoutmaster. and Webmeister 1.0. and Second Assistant Bottle washer, and...
*Clicking
this link will take you away from this website. Please report broken
links using the "Contact Our Troop" link at the top of the page. For further detail, please see our Disclaimer page.
Back to top
Section last updated/reviewed 07 Sept 12.
Please note that the images and logos here, as on all our pages, are
© (copyright) their respective owners and used by gracious permission. See
our Special Thanks! page for details and links.
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A scout is Reverent. He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.
To encourage members to grow stronger in their faith, religious groups have developed the following religious emblems programs. The Boys Scouts of America has approved these programs and allows the emblems to be worn on the official uniform. the various religious groups administer the programs. Check at the Scout Shop in Reedsville or with the religious organization for the appropriate booklets.
Materials with a Boy Scouts of America supply number are also available from the BSA National Distribution Center. Call toll free: 800.323.0732.
The Venturing Religious Life Bronze Award is part of the Venturing advancement program. This youth award is not part of the BSA religious emblems programs. For additional information, refer to the Venturer/Ranger Handbook, No. 33494, available at the Scout Shop or BSA National.
How do you get started? Well, you already have--you're reading this page!
What Scouts need to do now is obtain a copy of the specific booklet for their faith. Download the DutyToGod.pdf attachment below. It contains all the various religious organizations that have denominational booklets and where you can order them directly from the denominational headquarters. You can also order them online at PrayPub.org*.
Then parents need to review the program guidelines. As a family, talk to your religious leader(s) and show them the booklet so they will know of your interest. This should occur before you begin the program. Most of the time that's pretty easy because your religious leader is usually your counselor. But not always. There may be someone else selected to perform this duty.
Complete the requirements, get the signatures needed and order your emblem.
It's that simple.
But it probably won't be that easy. There will be some challenge to it, especially for the older scouts. That's part of what makes this program worth the effort. You get a chance to explore your faith roots and determine for yourself what you believe and why you believe it.
You don't have to worry if you don't attend religious meetings regularly either. While intended to help strengthen the faith of young people who do attend regularly, you can certainly pursue the religious emblem as an investigation of what that faith is all about. You should know, however, that some of these programs do in fact require membership in the denomination/faith group to participate. How can you know? Just ask. Give 'em a call and they'll be happy to tell you.
You can also talk with your Troop Chaplain or Chaplain Aide for help.
National has a Religious Emblem FAQ*, How To Get Started*, and Chart of Religious Emblems
Check out the Scout is Reverent section on the Tasty Links page for some points of reference, too!
*Clicking
thess links will take you away from this website. Please report broken
links using the "Contact Our Troop" link at the top of the page. For further detail, please see our Disclaimer page.
Back to top
Section last updated/reviewed 07 Sept 12.
Please note that the images and logos here, as on all our pages, are
© (copyright) their respective owners and used by gracious permission. See
our Special Thanks! page for details and links.
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Per the 12th point of the Scout Law, "a Scout is Reverent".
Scouting's founder, Lord Baden Powell, believed
that it was crucial to the development of the "whole person" that we
have a belief in, and love for, God and that we should live by and
embody His laws and teachings.
Scouting does NOT promote any denomination or faith system above
another and works with organized religions to offer awards (the Religious Emblems noted in the segment above) to any boy choosing to further
explore their religious faith, from Catholic, to Muslim, to Judaism, to Buddhist. Again, Scouting proves itself to be SUPPORTIVE of diversity
and religious differences.
However, as a Private organization, it is the
right of the BSA to set a code or ethics and morals for its members to
follow. Having a belief in God, is one of those criteria.
Those professing NO belief in God may find they
would be better served in a different youth program than the BSA.
As we believe "being reverent" is such a
critical part of Scouting, we openly pray during meals, at meetings, and
during non-denominational "Scouts' Own" services and Chapel services which are held while
we are away at camp.
Back to top
Section last updated/reviewed 07 Sept 12.
Please note that the images and logos here, as on all our pages, are
© (copyright) their respective owners and used by gracious permission. See
our Special Thanks! page for details and links.
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