"The Scout, in his promise, undertakes to do his duty to his king and country only in the second place; his first duty is to God. It is with this idea before us and recognizing that God is the one Father of us all, that we Scouts count ourselves a brotherhood despite the difference among us of country, creed, or class. We realize that in addition to the interests of our particular country, there is a higher mission before us, namely the promotion of the Kingdom of God; That is, the rule of Peace and Goodwill on earth. In the Scouts each form of religion is respected and its active practice encouraged and through the spread of our brotherhood in all countries, we have the opportunity in developing the spirit of mutual good will and understanding.
"There is no religious "side" of the movement. The whole of it is based on religion, that is, on the realization and service of God.
"Let us, therefore, in training our Scouts, keep the higher aims in the forefront, not let ourselves get too absorbed in the steps. Don't let the technical outweigh the moral. Field efficiency, back woodsmanship, camping, hiking, Good Turns, jamboree comradeship are all means, not the end. The end is CHARACTER with a purpose.
"Our objective in the Scouting movement is to give such help as we can in bringing about God's Kingdom on earth by including among youth the spirit and the daily practice in their lives of unselfish goodwill and cooperation." source
(Video from LDS.org here)
Clearly there is no religious preference in Scouting, all faiths, denominations, religions are welcome. However, when we talk about "Duty To God", a core tenant is a strong belief in and a commitment to God, our creator, a supreme being. As BP said above, "the one Father of us all".
That faith and commitment to God will guide a scouts actions, behaviors, goals, motivations and character.
I've been at camps, and even Wood Badge, when some people took issue with the display of certain religious observances. For instance the way a certain faith prays when called upon at meals. The result has sometimes been to "dilute" all faith observances for the sake of not offending any, and use generic camp songs in place of prayers.
A Scout is a friend to all, and as BP said,
"Our objective in the Scouting movement is to give such help as we can in bringing about God's Kingdom on earth by including among youth the spirit and the daily practice in their lives of unselfish goodwill and cooperation."Therefore shouldn't we be encouraging a scout to be faithful to his God and his faith? Rather than making him feel embarrassed about it? Shouldn't we be teaching Scouts to be tolerant and encouraging of faith and honoring God?
Let us be anxiously engaged, as our founder was, in helping to bring about God's Kingdom on earth through daily observance and practice of our faith and Duty To God.
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