An Atheist Mothers Depressing Journey With the Boy Scouts

[NeoGreen]

3. Yeah, it really depends on the unit...

...and the adults running the show.

As a scout I was always in a Troop that was chartered by a local Fire Company, never a church.

Plus, when my son joined, I volunteered to be the treasurer.
I did a good job and, 2-years in, I was elected to be Committee Chair.

The neat thing about being Chair, is you have the following duties:

Excerpt From the BSA - Troop Committee Guidebook – Chapter 4 (page 14)
“Duties of the Troop Committee Chair"
• Organize the committee to see that all functions are delegated, coordinated, and completed.
• Maintain a close relationship with the chartered organization representative and the Scoutmaster.
• Interpret national and local policies to the troop.
• Prepare troop committee meeting agendas.
• Call, preside over, and promote attendance at attendance at monthly troop committee meetings and any special meetings that may be called.
(snip)

The "interpret policies" clause is only listed in the chair's duties. No other adult has that duty listed within the unit's organization.
Not even the COR, to whom the chair reports.

Consequently, in "my" unit, no one was asked about their religion or orientation while I was chair.
If anyone asked about it, my answer was that we were chartered by a local fire company and since they could not discriminate neither shall the troop.

In my tenure as chair, and prior to the 2010/2013/2015 BSA policy changes, there was at least one gay scout (he came out after he started college) and at least one atheist who attained the rank of eagle.

And we spent a lot of time in the woods.