When the Boy Scouts of America announced they wouldn’t
exclude males of homosexual orientation, Christian organizations began
to second-guess their involvement in the American institution.
Christian churches began to disassociate themselves with
local Boy Scout chapters, particularly Catholic churches that had once
offered their church buildings as gathering venues for local chapters —
but the dissociation didn’t end there.
Born out of the new Boy Scouts policy was the organization,
Trail Life USA, a Christian alternative organization aimed at offering
boys and young men with the same experience found in the Boy Scouts,
only without the tolerance of homosexual members.
“Our vision and what we are about is to be the premier
national character development organization for young men, which
produces godly and responsible husbands, fathers and citizens,” John
Stemberger, who was a vocal critic of the Boy Scouts’ policy reversal,
said in a promotional video for the organization.
The move away from the Boy Scouts new policy comes as the
nation is overwhelmingly moving toward acceptance of equal rights for
the LGBTQ community. Fourteen states recognize same-sex marriage, with
Hawaii joining the movement this week.
In July, a poll
administered by Princeton Survey Research Associates found a record 55
percent of Americans were in favor of same-sex marriage. A Gallup poll
issued in 1996 found that just 27 percent of Americans were behind
same-sex marriage at that time.
That’s a progressive trend Stemberger and the new Trail
Life organization don’t want to be a part of — and one they want to
stand against, through the next generation.
“The society we’re living in today is just in moral freefall,” Stemberger said
in a Trail Life USA video. “Things that were unthinkable just
generations ago are now not only thinkable, but they’re being promoted
as virtuous, and so we’re seeing this sort of downward spiral of moral
confusion all throughout our society.”
An exodus from tradition
Stemberger said in the promotional video for Trail Life USA
that in 2012 he had a discussion with a prominent leader within the Boy
Scouts of America, who told him that although there was discussion and
pressure to change the policy to be more open to homosexual members, the
organization was not going to do so.
That changed.
Before Trail Life USA was born and before the vote had
already gone through, former Scouts in Florida were joining together for
a Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts — it was called On My Honor,
and it stood against the inclusion of homosexuality among teenagers
involved in the organization.
In May, Boy Scout leaders from around the nation gathered
in Grapevine, Texas for the organization’s national meeting. It was
there that the national council, consisting of 1,400 members, voted to
change the policy, with 60 percent in favor.
This was after an announcement in January that it would
consider doing so. The statement followed the highly publicized Eagle
Scout rejection of Ryan Andresen, who, at age 18, was denied Eagle rank
after he admitted to being gay.
His mother started a campaign on
Change.org that quickly caught on, sparking protest among those who
claimed the Scouts’ position on homosexuality needed a second look.
“Ryan has worked for nearly 12 years to become an Eagle
Scout, and nothing would make him more proud than earning that
well-deserved distinction,” the petition
stated. “I hope that if enough people come together, we can convince my
son’s troop leaders to help him feel proud of who he is and all he’s
accomplished.”
The petition site
now includes a “victory” statement at the top, pointing to the votes
and thanking the 479,000 Americans who signed the petition.
Following the vote that grabbed headlines throughout the
nation, the Boy Scouts of America issued a statement, justifying their
decision as one that would allow the organization to deliver the program
to all youth.
“Based on growing input from within the Scouting family,
the BSA leadership chose to conduct an additional review of the
organization’s long-standing membership policy and its impact on
Scouting’s mission,” the statement
said. “This review created an outpouring of feedback from the Scouting
family and the American public, from both those who agree with the
current policy and those who support a change.”
At the time, the organization attempted to distance itself
from the controversy, claiming the policy would not radically change the
organization from its existing structure.
“The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth
program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by
youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting,” the
statement read.
The change has yet to take effect, as the policy will
formally change Jan. 1, yet that didn’t stop the 40 percent opposed to
the decision to look for ways out. While the policy change does not
transfer to troop leaders, those within the Scouts, particularly
Christians opposed to same-sex marriage, claimed the organization wasn’t
one that he stand by any longer.
Religion, politics and Scouting
Rob Green, executive director of Trail Life USA, knew the minute he learned of the Scouting decision that he was out.
“Earlier this year I caught wind of the fact the the Boy
Scouts were considering changing their value system, and I knew at that
point that it was going to be a tough fight,” Green said.
“I decided in early February to go ahead and resign, but I would wait
until we had a chance to address this issue and go all the way through
with the vote and make sure that I did what I could to stop it or at
least slow down this erosion of values from the Boy Scouts.”
After working with the organization for 20 years, he threw
in the towel.
Now, he stands with Trail Life USA as the answer to the
rift in social policy within the more than 100-year-old organization. He
now refers to Trail Life USA as a Scout-like organization with a “much
firmer value system.”
He’s joined by many families who have turned away from the
progressive notion of LGBTQ acceptance among troop members. Mark
Hancock, now board vice chairman for Trail Life USA was among those
parents who knew their children would not be allowed to be a part of an
organization that allowed openly gay members.
“Our initial response was disbelief,” Hancock said.
“We were … like so many other families, we were just taken by surprise
that the Boy Scouts that had been so much a part of our lives would
break with this tradition and in such a radical way. We almost dealt
like as if we were grieving the loss of something. Initially we were
just in denial. Certainly, we’ll be fine, our troop will be fine, our
little group will be fine. But when the resolution finally came out, we
just saw that there was no way we could resist this change and there’s
no way that we could stay true to the organization.”
Once formed, the organization now known as Trail Life USA
found partnerships with the American Heritage Girls, a Girl Scouts-like
organization focussed on what they say are more Christian principles
than those of the Scouts, which is also faith-based.
Stemberger claims the organization is open to all male
youth of faith, but says the messages spread by leaders will be one
that’s biblically based, and will not condone or support homosexuality.
It’s not clear how many Scouts will ultimately leave the
program, as the policy has yet to take effect.
However, estimates put
the numbers of potential loss at 200,000 to 400,000 youth members,
according to Stemberg.
At this point, nearly 30,000 have contacted the
organization.