Scout's honor

In northern New Mexico, the Boy Scouts of America owns the largest youth camp in the world. Philmont Scout Ranch covers 137,000 acres in the Sangre de Cristo-the "blood of Christ"-Mountains. Every day this summer, approximately 300 Scouts, Explorers, and their leaders will arrive at Philmont. A total of more than 18,000 will complete a 12-day Philmont trek this summer, hiking at least 50 miles over mountains that reach up to 12,000 feet.

And there are that many more on a waiting list. It has been that way for 10 years. "We've never been stronger," said Philmont's Director of Program Mark Anderson.

Many organizations that celebrate "duty to God and country"-words from the Scout oath-have either fallen on hard times or have abandoned such values. The Girl Scouts, for example, no longer requires members to believe in God, and it allows openly gay leaders.

The Boy Scouts, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, is holding firm. Atheists have sued the Scouts so they can be members without having to pledge duty to God, but the Scouts have defended themselves vigorously-and successfully-in the courts. In the 1990s, James Dale, an openly gay man, wanted to be a Scout leader and sued for the privilege. The case went to the Supreme Court in 2000. The Boy Scouts won-but barely, in a 5-4 decision.

Though the Scouts have won virtually every case brought against them by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others, these battles have not been without costs, which over several decades have amounted to tens of millions of dollars in legal fees. Robert Knight is an Eagle Scout, a senior writer with Coral Ridge Ministries, and a senior fellow with the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), a group that considers itself the conservative counterweight to the ACLU. The ACRU filed amicus briefs in several cases the ACLU has brought against the Scouts. Knight said, "The ACLU is trying to peck the Scouts to death, and even when they don't win, they generate controversy and they intimidate." Knight said that in some parts of the country the United Way no longer funds the Boy Scouts because of the controversy generated by lawsuits.

But the controversies have earned the Boy Scouts the admiration of social conservatives and many others because, Knight said, "The Boy Scouts make it clear where moral authority comes from. From God. That's controversial today, but most Americans still believe it's true."

That said, Scouting is pluralistic in the way that America is pluralistic. Tenderfoot Scouts must know the Scout Oath, which begins, "On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country." So every Scout must believe in God-or at least say he does. But Scouting is not particular about which god. Indeed, the strongest religious influence in the Scouting Movement today comes from the Mormons-the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mormons have used Scouting as one of their official programs for youth since 1913, and almost 25 percent of all Boy Scouts are Mormon. (Only about 2 percent of the U.S. population is Mormon.)

Other youth organizations-and even many churches-say they must abandon traditional ways in order to remain relevant. However, the Scouts' adherence to traditional values-and traditional activities such as camping, hiking, and canoeing-seems to be serving them well. Indeed, the Scouts tried seeking "relevance" in the '70s, with near-disastrous results. A '70s-era version of the Scout Handbook focused on urban survival skills, such as how to read a bus schedule. As it turns out, most youth already know that. They want to know how to pitch a tent.

That doesn't mean the Scouts are not adjusting. Recently added merit badges include "Geo-caching" and "Invention," which teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. Larry Pritchard, the director of this year's National Scout Jamboree, which takes place every four years, said this year's event will feature a Wi-Fi cloud over the entire jamboree location, and 40 exhibitors-including NASA and the National Geographic Society-related to science and technology.

These adjustments are necessary, said Alvin Townley, if Scouting is to have a second century as great as its first. Townley has written two influential books in praise of Scouting. Townley said, "If we want a great next 100 years, we'll have to overcome some significant challenges. That doesn't mean abandoning our bedrock values, but it does mean getting smarter about how we communicate them to youth. Conservation, stewardship, adventure, entrepreneurship, leadership. Young people resonate with these ideas, and these ideas have always been what Scouting is all about. But we've got to sharpen our brand so that people understand that."

The Scouts also recently acquired a 10,000-acre tract of land in West Virginia, a high adventure base called The Summit. It is expected to relieve pressure on Philmont and will provide a location for the National Scout Jamboree. Since 1981-and again this year for the 100th anniversary-the jamboree will take place at Ft. A.P. Hill in Virginia. But protests from the ACLU that the Scouts shouldn't be allowed to use the military base was a factor in the decision to find another permanent home.

With all this talk of change, though, many still believe that Scouting as it has always been is relevant and will remain relevant into the distant future. Sammy L. Davis, for example, is sometimes known as the "real Forrest Gump."

In 1967, Private First Class Davis used an air mattress to ferry three of his wounded comrades across a river to safety while his unit was under heavy enemy mortar fire. He won the Medal of Honor for his actions. Footage of Davis receiving the medal from President Lyndon Johnson was used in the movie Forrest Gump-with Tom Hanks' face digitally inserted.

On July 4, the 63-year-old Davis celebrated Independence Day and the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts with hundreds of admiring Boy Scouts gathered around him to hear "what he learned in the Boy Scouts" that allowed him to do what he did in Vietnam and in the rest of his life.

It's a scene Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement, would have relished. To hear Warren Cole Smith discuss this article on the "Knowing the Truth" radio program, click here.

Boy Scouts of America

Membership: 2.9 million (including adult leaders)

Founded:1910 by newspaper publisher William Boyce, who visited England, got lost in the dense London fog, and was helped by a young boy. The boy refused a reward, saying that helping others was his duty as a Boy Scout. Boyce linked up with Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the British Boy Scouts, to bring the organization to America.

Boy Scout Jamboree

Held every four years, this month it takes place at Ft. A.P. Hill in Virginia. In 2013 it will have a permanent home at The Summit, a new Scout reservation in West Virginia.

Boys' Life

The magazine of the Boy Scouts of America and one of the nation's oldest currently published magazines. Its first issue came out in 1911. An illustrated Bible story appears in every issue.