The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from an atheist father over Boy Scout recruitment at his son's local school.John Scalise argument against the Boy Scouts began in 1998, when his son was a third-grader. He contends that the Scouts discriminate against nonreligious boys and parents by denying them membership if they don't swear religious oaths, and should therefore no be allowed to recruit at schools.
Let's stop for a second and review this draconian Oath:
| Scout Oath | Scout Law | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. | A Scout is:
|
Wow. How harsh.
Scalise said that his son was taunted by classmates and humiliated by a Boy Scout recruiter in front of other students for refusing to take the Scout Oath. Scalise and his son are nonreligious Humanists.
Michigan courts have ruled that the school-Scout relationship does not advance religion in violation of Constitutional Law, especially in light of the wide range of groups that utilize school facilities, including a hospital group, a Native American tribe, a Baptist church, and a hockey association.
Besides, no one is forcing anyone else to join the scouts. Here's a crazy idea: If you don't like the Boy Scouts, start your own little atheist group... You are free to do so here in America, and I am in turn free to not send my boy to it if I dislike your tenets.
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