Buddhist beliefs differ enough from the notion of monotheism, or even theism, that I think a well-crafted legal argument could pose problems for claiming that Scouting is closer to religion than to a religiously-affiliated organization. One of the objections the National Council had to the Unitari
I'd think there aren't any legal implications from the Scouts'
accepting Buddhists and Unitarians but not atheists and agnostics. Most
religious beliefs, especially among the relatively doctrinally moderate
churches, require some line-drawing. Thomas (of Thomas v. Emp. Div.),
recall, obje
I hope no such suit is ever brought. There are serious issues to be worked out within Scouting, I think, and a lawsuit would likely prevent such action. Here are some complicating issues: First, Scouting accepts Buddhists. There is a Buddhist religious award, in fact, which has the approval
Volokh, Eugene wrote:
The Boy Scouts asserts the following:
"With respect to positions limited to professional Scouters or,
because of their close relationship to the mission of Scouting,
positions limited to registered members of the Boy Scouts of America,
acceptance of the Dec
A small note, for some context: Yes, there
are a few cases in which the Boy Scouts have been denied benefits because of
their discriminatory policies (both on the basis of religion and sexual
orientation). Much more frequently, however, the Boy Scouts are provided
special benefits to which
I think the answer to this question depends on what the Scouts believe
and why they require a belief in G-d and reverence to G-d as a condition
for membership. If the condition is based on the value they assign to
deistic beliefs and reverence (as a foundation for morality, for
example), I don't se
