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A coalition of 19 agnostic and atheist organizations has asked Barack Obama to decline any invitation to be the honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), as has been tradition since the presidency of William Howard Taft. The coalition, led by the American Humanist Association, focuses on the Boy Scouts' policy of discrimination against nontheism, as laid out in the BSA bylaws:
The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God. In the first part of the Scout Oath or Promise the member declares, "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law." The recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgment of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing members.The coalition points out that because "nontheists now make up a sizeable minority of the American population -- having more numbers than Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews combined- -- the BSA is clearly out of touch with the spirit of pluralism, tolerance, and inclusiveness that compose today’s American values." It asks Obama to "decline the title and role of honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America until such time as the organization reforms its bylaws and practices to be non-discriminatory." Perhaps Obama, in the spirit of inclusiveness, will invite an atheist and a Boy Scout to co-host an inaugural pinewood derby.--Sarah Posner
