12thPoint
The home defines and gives attention to the religious side of the youth member's life.
For help on the Webelos Badge, please click here. Under 8e, I would suggest any two of these:
- Discuss with your family and Webelos den leader how your religious beliefs fit in with the Scout Oath and Law, and what character-building traits your religious beliefs have in common with the Scout Oath and Law.
- For at least a month, pray or meditate reverently each day as taught by your family, and by your church, temple, mosque, synagogue, or religious group.
- List at least two ways you believe you have lived according to your religious beliefs.
The second one could simply be saying grace before dinner. The third could be simply doing his best to follow the 12 points of the Scout Law.
The following are excerpts from the national website.
- Young people need faith. There is abundant evidence that children benefit from the moral compass provided by religious tradition. We acknowledge that faith can become an important part of a child's identity. Each of the major faiths breeds hope, optimism, compassion, and a belief in a better tomorrow. Scouting encourages each young person to begin a spiritual journey through the practice of his or her faith tradition. One of the key tenets of Scouting is "duty to God." While Scouting does not define religious belief for its members, it has been adopted by and works with youth programs of all major faiths.
- The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but it is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the home and organization or group with which a member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life.
- Board members are not to pass judgment or try to impose their individual beliefs. The situation is no different from what might currently be asked: “How have you lived the ‘duty to God’ part of the Scout Oath in your daily life?” or “How have you demonstrated ‘A Scout is reverent’ in your everyday life?”
So this is something to discuss with your family. You don't have to "go to church" to fulfill this. The universal theme is that "there is something out there, greater than ourselves (mankind)"; humanism is not the answer to the unknown.
"It is important to note that Scouting is nonsectarian and promotes no specific religion. In fact, a boy need not belong to any official religious institution — he could practice his beliefs privately at home. However, while membership in an organized religion is not necessary or implied, a Scout does have to express belief in a higher power (ascribe to the declaration of religious principles)" - to have faith in something greater than ourselves.
For more details on a major religion that has a different interpretation of God, please read:
Also consider the non-denominational Philmont Grace that we say in Scouts.
For food, for raiment, For life, for opportunity, For friendship and fellowship, We thank Thee, O Lord. Amen.
We are thankful for what we have. It is human nature to always want more, but lack of appreciation for what we have leads to taking for granted (to assume as true, real, or expected, to value too lightly) what we have, which is destructive.
Boy Scout Oath:
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
Boy Scout law: A Scout is:
- Trustworthy,
- Loyal
- Helpful
- Friendly
- Courteous
- Kind
- Obedient
- Cheerful
- Thrifty
- Brave
- Clean
- and Reverent.
You will find that every major religion mirrors the above principles. That is not coincidence!
Your family and religious leaders teach your spirituality to you. By following these teachings, you do your duty to God. By adhering to the Scout Oath, you do your duty to yourself, to others, and to God. Men and women of the past worked to make America great, and many gave their lives for their country. By being a good family member and a good citizen, by working for your country's good and obeying its laws, you do your duty to your country. Obeying the Scout Law means living by its 12 points.
At your Eagle Scout board of review, you will be asked, How do you do your Duty to God? The Scout needs to be able to speak to this. "I do not believe in God and there is no higher power" is not an acceptable answer.
Troop 792 has produced several Eagle Scouts, many from different backgrounds and traditions - so varied that some have considered going into the priesthood, while others had not been to any religious services of any kind before coming to the Troop, and even others (parents) have left their churches due to negative experiences (such as being told how much money they had to donate). The culture in many schools silences "religion"; to the contrary, in Scouting, we share our faith. The youth are encouraged to lead grace - any (sincere) grace they want. This page, particularly from this point onward, has been created to help those who are preparing to go before the Eagle Scout Board of Review and are unsure how to answer how they do their Duty to God; it has been and will be further updated with excerpts from Eagle Scout candidates' statements (either written or at their Boards or Conferences - this is kept vague on purpose). Each paragraph is from a different T792 Eagle:
I believe in God. This could not all have come about by chance. I have had things better than some and not as good as others. I am grateful for the blessings in my life.
I did not get this far by myself. Other people helped me get here. It is one thing for family and some friends to help me, as I do for family and friends. But for others to come into my life and help me achieve this must originate from a greater power. Something motivates people to help others. I remember a Scoutmaster Minute that said something like, if we do something good each day that costs us nothing more than a little time, we can make this a better place. What drives that can only be explained by the work of God through other people.
The eight Buddhist concepts in the Noble Eightfold Path are...
right view: the belief that there is an afterlife, that not everything ends with death
right resolve: peaceful renunciation, into an environment of ... non-ill-will, away from cruelty (to compassion).
right speech: no lying, no rude speech, no telling one person what another says about him, speaking that which leads to salvation;
right conduct: no killing or injuring, no taking what is not given, ...
right livelihood: beg to feed, only possessing what is essential to sustain life;
right effort: guard against ... thoughts ... preventing unwholesome states
right mindfulness: never be absent minded, being conscious of what one is doing
right concentration: practicing ... meditation.
Following the Noble Eightfold Path, restraining oneself, cultivating discipline, and practicing mindfulness ... gives me the self-control that I will need in life. [Addendum not by the Eagle: Note how closely this resembles the Scout Law.]
Duty to God can just mean being thankful for what you have. Not just your property, but your family and friends and knowledge, and the things you have experienced. I only really think about this when I'm camping.
I used to think science would have to prove the presence of God. But science cannot justify faith; that is the weakness of science. In fact, the sequence mentioned in Genesis matches the scientific description of how the Earth came to be.
