Baptist Leaders Predict 'Mass Exodus' From Boy Scouts Over Gay Member Decision

Religion Today | Updated: Jan 29, 2013

Baptist Leaders Predict 'Mass Exodus' From Boy Scouts Over Gay Member Decision

The Southern Baptist Convention expressed extreme disappointment to news that the Boy Scouts of America will likely end a longtime ban on gay members, with SBC officials predicting a mass exodus out of Scouting by Baptist churches, the Christian Post reports. A vote on the matter by the BSA is planned during an executive meeting the first week of February. Dr. Richard Land, head of SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said: "This is a catastrophic decision for the Boy Scouts of America. In order to placate their East and West Coast appendages, they are tearing out the heart of their Midwest and Southern support. This decision will lead to a mass exodus of traditional, orthodox Christianity from the Boy Scouts." Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told USA Today the policy change would be "nothing less than disastrous" for the Boy Scouts. And the SBC's president, Fred Luter, a former Cub Scout and Boy Scout, also expressed disappointment. "If this is what the leadership is doing, then I think it will be a sad day in the life of the Boy Scouts of America. ... To now see this organization that I thought stood on biblical principles about to give in to the politically correct thing is very disappointing."



Baptist Leaders Predict 'Mass Exodus' From Boy Scouts Over Gay Member Decision