‘At what point does this become a national religion?…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) The Boy Scouts of America announced this week that it will require its Eagle Scouts to earn a “diversity and inclusion merit badge” as part of its support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Starting July 1, the group will also require its employees to undergo “diversity and inclusion” training and review its “property names, events, and insignia” to make sure that they do not bear resemblance to racist stereotypes.
“This is not a political issue,” the organization’s National Executive Committee said in a letter released on Monday. “It is a human rights issue and one we all have a duty to address.”
The BSA did not list the requirements Eagle Scouts must meet to earn the “diversity” badge, but several critics have already pointed out how worthless the award will be.
The Boy Scouts are introducing an “inclusion” badge in a partnership with BLM. You must earn to it become an Eagle Scout.
If your kid needs a badge to feel good about accepting people, you’re doing a crappy job as a parent. Woke politics is ruining everything.
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) June 16, 2020
At what point does this become a national religion and violate anyone’s definition of the establishment clause? https://t.co/qNysrtPHhb
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) June 17, 2020
Meanwhile, the organization continues to face several lawsuits from hundreds of former Scouts who have alleged sexual abuse. In February, the BSA had to file for bankruptcy protection because it could not keep up with all of its legal costs.
This could be one of the reasons why the BSA is taking coming out strong in support of BLM, said Alvin Tillery Jr., a political science professor at Northwestern University.
“This is an organization that is super-embattled and they’ve had to adopt more progressive stances because nobody wants to have anything to do with them,” Tillery told NBC News.