Scouts’ Mixing of Genders Highlights Other Group’s ‘Boy Focus’

By Chris Woodward, OneNewsNow, May 2, 2018

With both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts trending toward allowing girls to join, an alternative Christian organization that limits membership just to boys is clearly the beneficiary.

Trail Life USA is a Christ-centered, boy-focused character leadership and adventure organization for young men. What began in 2013 now boasts upwards of 27,000 members spread across 49 states.

“About half of our troops were formerly Boy Scout troops,” says Mark Hancock, CEO of Trail Life USA. “The awards that the boys earned in Boy Scouts are transferable over to Trail Life USA because a lot of them are the same skills such as camping, hiking, and outdoor skills.”

Trail Life USA also offers badges that line up more with Christian values.

Hancock

“They’re going to find apologetics badges and citizenry badges that talk about America in the traditional sense,” Hancock explains. “They’re going to find all the things that maybe they would have found in Boy Scouts 50 or 100 years ago.”

OneNewsNow reported last week that thousands of girls are now joining boys as Cubs Scouts, and a new program is planned for next year for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum. Trail Life USA, says Hancock, is committed to what he calls a “boy focus.”

“We think boys and girls are different,” he explains, “and we think that boys need their own place to grow in character and leadership and to experience outdoor adventure.”

A sister organization, American Heritage Girls, is also available.

onenewsnow.com/culture/2018/05/02/scouts-mixing-of-genders-highlights-other-groups-boy-focus