When our son was in elementary school 20 years ago, he wanted to join the Cub Scouts. I dutifully took him to the parents' orientation meeting, where I heard the local Boy Scout Council representative proudly proclaim that "girls, gays and godless will never be part of the Boy Scouts of America."
Infuriated, I nonetheless waited until the meeting was over, and then I took our son home. He attended some Cub Scout meetings, but never really got into it. And I was glad.
Now two decades later, the mere prospect that the Boy Scouts of America might repent of its exclusive ways and drop its asinine ban against males of same-sex orientation has raised a hornet's nest among United Methodists. Leaders of the United Methodist Men's Commission, where Scouting ministries are housed, expressed support first for discussing a possible change, and then for a proposal that would leave the issue of LGBT inclusion up to the local sponsoring congregation. The outrage expressed at either alternative lead the commission to backtrack and counsel the BSA not to implement any policy changes until more conversation could take place. The threat of too many United Methodist congregations withdrawing their BSA sponsorships, potentially gutting the resources of the national organization, became all too real.
Worst of all from my perspective was a comment from a local-church Scout leader who said he had "concerns over the physical safety of the boys if the current rules are changed."
This comment alone symbolizes the terrible harm that The United Methodist Church's anti-LGBT policies commit against people who have never harmed the denomination. To slander an entire class of men with the insinuation that they can't be trusted to protect boys under their care, simply because they are affectionally oriented toward their own sex, is tantamount to saying that we're all murderers because we once said "I'll kill you" to another person.
Once more, with feeling:
Homosexual orientation is not pedophilia. Study after scientific study has shown that pedophiliacs -- adults of either gender who sexually assault children -- are of heterosexual orientation by a vast majority. Just ask the Roman Catholic Church about its issues with supposedly celibate priests who have preyed upon the children in their care.
Furthermore, men who sexually assault other men may or may not be homosexuals, but they are definitely rapists. Rape is a crime of power, not sex, and male-on-male rape has far more to do with dominance than with sex. Just ask the U.S. military, which is now dealing with its own "invisible war" involving cover-ups of sexual assaults on male and female soldiers.
In the final analysis, United Methodists' angry panic over a possible change in the Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay policy comes down to two fears:
- The same churches, pastors and members that ferociously back the UMC's own anti-gay policies don't want the Boy Scouts to change their anti-gay policy because it would weaken the denomination's rationale for continuing its prejudice.
- Lawsuit-averse local churches and annual conferences won't risk increasing their insurance liability if they allow those supposedly predatory gays near their Scouts.
This backlash against mere discussion of whether the BSA's anti-gay policy might change represents a truly sad day for The United Methodist Church.
Since the late 1980s, when the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women began pushing the denomination to develop policies about clergy sexual abuse, the UMC has been at the forefront of protecting vulnerable women and children from assault by sexual predators. Not only have church units enacted specific anti-abuse policies, clergy and laity alike have been taught proper interpersonal boundaries. In our more enlightened schools and churches, children have been taught how to protect themselves from potential predators. Background checks on all who work with children have helped to screen out those with documented abusive behaviors. Programs such as the current "Ministry Safe" have taught church workers how to set appropriate boundaries as well as how to protect the vulnerable.
Now this exemplary trailblazing record has a big black blotch on it, because too many United Methodists won't let go of the invidious stereotype that gay men and boys will sexually assault their comrades if they're let into the Boy Scouts.
Well, here's a newsflash for those who still believe this lie: There have always been gay Scouts, and there have always been gay Scout leaders. Some of them have since come out, and many of them are Eagle Scouts who have returned their honors rather than continue in an organization that tells them they're subhuman and therefore not to be trusted. It's a miracle that so many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people remain in The United Methodist Church when their own faith community basically tells them the same thing that the Boy Scouts do.
Perhaps this conflict will be the final wedge that cleaves the denomination into two branches. Then there will be two churches: one composed of those who hold on to injurious hatreds against LGBT people simply because of who they are, and another composed of those who have faith in God's power to build a beloved community out of all us sinners, as taught and lived by Jesus, the Christ.