Duty to God
A Scout is Reverent
A Scout is reverent. They are reverent toward God. They are faithful in their religious duties and respect the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion. To encourage Cub Scouts, Scouts, and Venturers to grow stronger in their faith, religious groups have developed religious emblems programs. BSA has approved these programs and allows the emblems to be worn on the official uniform. The programs are administered by the various faith groups.
Religious Emblems
Scouts who are interested in earning a religious emblem must take the initiative to start the process by contacting the religious institution, faith leader, or their unit’s Religious Emblems Coordinator.
Scouts, or Cub Scout parents, should obtain the booklet for their specific faith award. Each program sets its own guidelines as to who may serve as counselor, approve awards, and order the emblems. Awards are not available from BSA or the Scout Shop
Unit Duty to God Support
There are many ways to show reverence and Duty to God in scouting. Each rank has an element of reverence and every unit has a position devoted to encouraging youth to uphold the twelve points to the Scout Law and promote the various Religious Emblems Programs. Units are encouraged to have Chaplains, Chaplain Aides, and Religious Emblems Coordinators.
Units should have a Religious Emblems Coordinator on their committee. The responsibility of the coordinator is to educate, motivate, evaluate, and facilitate the religious emblems program at the unit level. In addition to serving on the unit committee, a key function of the position is to serve as the liaison to district or council coordinators.
The Scouts BSA troop or Venture crew Chaplain is an adult member of the clergy or layperson appointed by the charter organization. A chartered organization for a unit not operated by a religious organization is encouraged to select a unit chaplain from among religious leaders in the community. Duties of the unit chaplain include being a spiritual leader for the troop. Along with the chaplain aide, sets a “spiritual tone” for meetings and activities, encourages time for spiritual reflection, promotes prayer as well as Grace at meals.
The Chaplain Aide is an approved youth leadership position in Scout BSA troops and Venturing crews. They educate Scouts about the religious emblems programs, make sure religious holidays are properly observed, and plan for Scout reverent troop activities. The Chaplain Aide assists the Unit Chaplain if there is one.