Membership Application - Boys & Girls Club Of Northern San Mateo: Fill & Download for Free

Absolutely none. To begin with, the Boy Scouts of America is not a religious organization. It requires its youth and adult members to believe in a god/supreme being because the Boy Scouts believe that religious faith is an important part of developing good moral values and good character. However, the BSA leaves it to each Scout to explore what his family believes about God and religion. It does not dictate what deity should be worshiped or how it's members should worship said deity. The Boy Scouts leaves it to each Scout and their families to make that decision.Now some Scouting units may begin and end their weekly meetings with a prayer, and may offer a chapel service at the end of campouts, but these are typically a very generic in nature and are organized/planned by one of the Scouts. You can rest assured that if your son joins Boy Scouts, no one will be indoctrinating him into any religious program.Incidentally, if your son is also an atheist, your concerns are moot. As part of the membership application, he must sign a statement of faith that basically says he believes there is a god/supreme being. If your son cannot agree with and sign that statement in good conscience, then his membership application will not be approved.

Boy Scouts of America has three program levels delineated by age/grade in school:Cub Scouting serves boys from first to fifth grade of school (roughly ages 6-11);Boy Scouting serves young men from ages 11 to 18 (can be as young as 10 if they have finished the fifth grade or earned the Arrow of Light as a Cub Scout);Venturing serves young men and women from ages 14 (and have finished the eighth grade) until their 21st birthday.Each program level is further separated into ranks, which are grade-specific in Cub Scouting, then more self-directed by advancement in Boy Scouting and Venturing.Youth members registered with their council as having special needs (this is done at the council level in addition to the standard BSA youth membership application) may remain in a program level past the upper limit of that level's membership age if it is determined that their intellectual age is within with the program level. This designation may be reviewed regularly with the member being graduated out if their intellectual age increases to exceed the program limit, but they must maintain continuous registration as a youth member with special needs in order to keep that status. (Last year in my council, a Scout with Down syndrome celebrated achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in his 30s.)Girl Scouts of America has program levels delineated by grade in school:Daisies in kindergarten and first grade;Brownies in second and third grades;Juniors in fourth and fifth grades;Cadettes in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades;Seniors in ninth and tenth grades;Ambassadors in eleventh and twelfth grades.

A friend of my father’s works as a part of the Scouting organization professionally, and after the decision he posted his opinion on the decision to Facebook.My personal thoughts and opinion.... The announcement made today by the BSA actually changed nothing in the way they have been operating for years. You have never had to show a birth certificate to join the BSA. All you had to do was fill out the membership application. What the announcement stated was that as a National organization they were taking that information at it's face value. In my 30+ years as a leader on multiple levels I have never known of or heard of a leader questioning a young persons 'identity'.Furthermore, for those unfamiliar with the way the BSA operates, the BSA has a program that it 'shares' with partnering organizations on a local level. Some of those partners are Churches or other religious based organizations. Those partners have a right to choose their own membership and leadership as it pertains to their mission and beliefs. The National BSA does not choose nor approve local leadership or membership. That is strictly up to the local partnering group.I hope that all my friends that are currently serving as leaders in whatever capacity, will continue to do so. I hope that they understand that children need positive role models to look up to and inspire them. Especially young people that are going through something as hard as our society has made this gender identity issue. Where do you want tomorrows leaders? In the program that has been teaching young people how to make ethical desicions [sic] for over 100 years, or in an atmosphere that has shunned them and cast them out?As I have told camp staffers for many years, I am here to impact one young person, I just don't know which one that is so I will treat them all as if they are the one that needs me.While some members of the organization might have the suspicious motivations you’ve alluded to, a majority of leaders I’ve known and heard of in Scouting are relatively accepting and always have been.