Are you a Chaplain?
The Chaplain is an adult leader position. If the troop is operated by a religious organization, it is customary for the religious leader to serve as the chaplain. The religious leader may ask a member of the staff who is qualified to serve in that position. A unit not operated by a religious organization may select a chaplain for the troop from the local clergy.
Are you a Chaplain Aid?
Chaplain aide is an approved youth leadership position for Scouts. The responsibilities are to encourage spiritual awareness and growth in the lives of troop members and to assist the chaplain.
Prayer
Prayer is important. Most kids do not know how to pray. I was once taught a cool method that helps me pray. It’s called the ACTS method. I use it as my guideline every time I pray.
Ideals
The ideals of Scouting are spelled out in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout Motto, and the Scout Slogan. Through the Scouting program, a Scout measures himself against these ideals and continually tries to improve. The goals are high, and as he reaches for them, he has some control over what and who he becomes.
Buddhism
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who was born about 563 BC. He realized that the ills that strike humanity come from inside the human being and that human life is suffering. His realization came around 528 BC so that is a point from which we can say Buddhism comes. It is a very old faith.
Christianity
Christianity teaches that Jesus is the Son of God, God having become human and the savior of humanity. Because of this, Christians commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah. The three largest groups in the world of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the various denominations of Protestantism.
Hinduism
If you ever have a young person from the Hindu faith in your section or District, you are in touch with the distant eras of history, because Hinduism is the oldest of the world’s religions and, partly because of that, it is different
from most of the others. For example, it has no rigid set of beliefs, though the Hindu follower will pray with deep devotion before his Dharma or guiding spirit.
Islam
If you have a Muslim boy in your Group, you have a follower of a world religion of
some billion members. And it is almost certain that your member will be a boy
because it is unlikely that any Muslim girl will be allowed into Scouting – at
least not yet. Islam is a way of life. Muslims are people of the Qur’an.
Judaism
Jews base their religious practice on the Law of God, the “Torah” found in
the five Books of Moses — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Although the stories in the early part of Genesis tell of the Creation of the world, the history of Judaism as such really begins with Abraham more than 3,000 years ago, who first recognized that there was only one Supreme Being.
Sikhism
The Sikh faith is really a break-away from the Hindu faith and dates back to the second half of the 15th Century when its founder – Guru Nanek – lived. Guru really means “teacher” and the most commonly used name for God in the Sikh Faith is Sat Guru – being the teacher.
Scouting Resources
Youth Protection
We are in Scouting because we care. Training youth and leaders about youth protection is not to scare them, it is to empower them.
Scouts’ Own
A Scouts’ Own service is usually short, often lasting no longer than 15 minutes. They are made up of a mixture of readings, prayers, reflections and music.
Counseling
Whoever says that leaders in Scouting are not counselors, they are wrong. Look, we are not professionals, at least most of us.
Scout Reach
The purpose of the Scouting Ministry is to reach out to the local community by providing a single night of wholesome family related activities through the programs offered by the BSA and AHG programs.
Scouting as an Outreach Ministry
In this plan, Mt. Olive will dedicate one night a week for Scouting. When fully implemented, there should be a total of 8 units of Scouting meeting on a single night with the possibility of…
Resource Links
Additional resources that scouts can visit to learn more about religion in scouting.