Lansing Diocese Encourages Parishes to End Scouting Affiliations Over LGBTQ+ Support

The Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, has encouraged parishes to disassociate from Scouts BSA because the scouting organization no longer provides an exemption for religious organizational sponsors of scout groups to exclude young people’s whose “personal beliefs” conflict with the sponsoring group.

The diocese also implied that an additional reason for the decision is due to the inclusion of a new merit badge about the importance of civic duty they say is in conflict with church teaching on LGBTQ+ issues. 

The diocese sent the directive to parishes advising them not to renew their agreements with the BSA (formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, but which now goes by the “BSA” acronym because the organization is co-ed) in the future and to find alternatives for youth formation, explaining:

“The bylaws no longer explicitly protect a church’s right to withhold membership from youth members whose personal beliefs are in conflict with the chartered organization’s religious principles.”

The merit badge in question, “Citizenship in Society,” was created in 2017. It is meant to reflect “a legacy of empathy and respect” embedded within the scout oath and law, according to Scouting Magazine. The information about the badge does not specifically mention LGBTQ+ issues.

Yet, according to the diocesan directive, the very presence of a merit badge advocating for social inclusion is a refutation of the church itself. The diocesan statement says:

“This required merit badge for Eagle Scouts is an exploration of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ topics; its regular references to celebrating ‘individuality’ and different ‘identities’ contradict Catholic teaching on human sexuality.”

The guidance does not prohibit local parishes from continuing to host scout troops, but removes any formal support from the diocese for BSA. In addition, the document goes further by casting broad suspicion upon any youth organization which has an inclusive stance toward LGBTQ+ youth:

“Given that other scouting organizations, such as the Girls Scouts and perhaps others, have also begun promoting ideologies contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, pastors are also encouraged to reconsider any relationship with them.”

Fr. Mathias Thelen, pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish, Brighton, the largest parish in the diocese, promptly removed both Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts groups from the parish.

Boy Scouting has been a source of frustration for opponents of LGBTQ-inclusion for a decade. In 2013, the organization began to allow scouts who identified openly as gay to assume leadership positions within their troops. In 2015, BSA dropped its ban on openly gay adults assuming leadership positions in scouting. Despite these changes in national policy, BSA continues to support local troops making their own determinations on who is allowed to assume leadership, according to NBC News:

“The Boy Scouts national organization said it would defend any local scouting group’s ‘good faith refusal’ to admit a scouting leader based upon the group’s religious principles.”

In 2017, scouting also opened admission to transgender youth. Despite the fact that local troops are granted the broad authority to make their own determinations as to what is best for their troop, these policy changes have drawn condemnation and dissociation from several conservative Christian denominations, including the Baptist and Mormon churches.

Scouting is a great way for young people to learn tangible leadership skills which will empower them throughout their adulthood. Scouts BSA has made laudable changes to ensure that all young people can participate regardless of their gender or sexuality. The Diocese of Lansing’s decision to no longer support scouting programs signals that some clerics are more concerned with pursuing an LGBTQ-negative culture war rather than focusing on supporting the young people in their parishes.

—Andru Zodrow (he/him), New Ways Ministry, March 1, 2023