Biblical Alternative to Boy Scouts Warns US Has 'Declared War on Boyhood'
Trail Life USA, the "unapologetically biblical" alternative to the Boy Scouts, has released a free eBook warning that culture is treating boyhood "like a disease."
Trail Life CEO Mark Hancock warns in the Let Boys Be Boys eBook that culture has "seemingly declared war on boyhood." He insists that boyhood is not "some sort of social disease that needs to be eradicated," however.
A press release for the group, which calls itself a "Christ-centered boy-focused outdoor adventure program," argues that political correctness is failing America's young males.
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The eBook advocates that boys need to develop into "strong Christian citizens, husbands, and fathers," and says that parents have increasingly been speaking out against schools and society cracking down on "competitive rough-and-tumble boy-friendly play."
Hancock lists five major pieces of advice, starting with the need for boys to have a compass. The Trail Life USA CEO warns that without a "solid point of perspective from which to begin," boys will choose their own course, or "opt out of moving at all."
Next, he says that boys "need a map" through which to tackle puberty, peer pressure, and other insecurities that could "paralyze" them.
Third, he states that boys "need a guide," and need to hone leadership skills, rather than be led by peers through a gang.
Fourth, the guide states that "boys need a flashlight," namely something to show them who they can be through the "dark times."
Finally, Hanock writes that "boys need a mountain."
"If we fail this generation, it won't be because we over-challenged them. It will be because we under-challenged them," he warns.
Trail Life USA and other conservative organizations have strongly criticized the BSA for a series of changes it has undergone in recent years, such as in allowing openly gay scout leaders, as well as girls who identify as boys, to participate in its scouting programs.
Back in January 2017, BSA explained why it changed its century-long policy of only allowing biological males in its single-sex programs.
"For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual's birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs," the organization said at the time.
"However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state."
Trail Life USA, which was founded in 2013, says that as an alternative to the BSA, it has been seeing continued growth, and now has more than 25,000 members in more than 770 troops in 49 states.
It noted in the press release that it has added more than 50 troops in the past 60 days, while new memberships are being added at double the 2017 rate.
