Religious emblems programs also called religious recognition programs are awards set up by some religious organizations for members of various youth organizations.
United States
In the United States, there are more than thirty different religious emblems, each representing a different faith. A diverse selection of religious groups participate in the program, including denominations of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and other
Abrahamic religions
The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran.
Jewish tradition ...
, the
Dharmic religions
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...
and
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
. The religious emblems are "created by the various religious groups to encourage youth to grow stronger in their faith. The religious groups, not the youth organizations, have created the emblem programs themselves. Each religious organization develops and administers its own program." Many religious groups have separate programs for different age levels within scouting, and some offer different programs or emblems for boys and girls. Some offer different programs or emblems for each youth organization.
The youth organizations do not run the programs, and youth organization leaders do not guide the youths through the program unless they also are the youth's religious leader or mentor. The youth organizations can choose to decide whether the emblems of a particular religious program will be worn on the youth organization's uniforms.
Once a youth has completed the program of their religion, they are usually presented with the emblem at a ceremony organized by their religious institution or the youth organization. The emblem is generally in the form of a medal, pin, or patch. Depending on the youth organization, the emblem can be worn only on formal or religious occasions, or may be worn all the time.
Many of the religions also have awards for adult members; however, adult members are generally nominated by others for service to the religion within Scouting. A few religious organizations offer awards for adults who serve as leaders or mentors for youth earning the awards. In most cases, adults do not have a formal program to complete to earn an award.
In the United States many, although not all, religious organizations with programs contract with th
Programs of Religious Activities with Youth(P.R.A.Y.) business office to handle the mechanics of order processing. P.R.A.Y. itself develops and administers the God and Country program aimed at
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
youth. P.R.A.Y. also promotes the religious emblems programs in general for all religions approved for scouting, both through lists and brochures distributed on the website and to scouting organizations, and through rotational segment patch programs designed to promote religious awards.
Boy Scouts of America
A variety of religious emblems programs approved by the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
(BSA) are designed to encourage youth to learn about their faith and to recognize adults who provide significant service to youth in a religious environment. Under the promise of BSA, scout aim to be reverent.
Boy Scouts who complete approved programs (workshops, with books fill in along with their denomination faith) . Boy scouts upon completion will earn a purple knot that it may also wear as the universal religious emblem knot insignia on the Scout uniform at all times. Participation in a program is not required, but encouraged although doing so is one method of completing some requirements for some Scout ranks.
For instance Bronze award in Venturing Scouts and the TRUST MEDAL in Venturing as well.
To promote religious awards within BSA, P.R.A.Y. offers a "Duty to God" rotational segment patch program for scouts and adults who attend or make a presentation about religious awards, then make a personal commitment to fulfill their "duty to
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
". This program is similar to the "To Serve God" GSUSA and "Love God" AHG programs.
Girl Scouts of the USA
In the
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...
(GSUSA) participation in a religious emblem program is optional and only a small percentage of Girl Scouts earn them. P.R.A.Y. has a list of religious emblems approved for Girl Scouts, but it is not considered exhaustive.
Camp Fire
In
Camp Fire
A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
participation in a religious emblem program is optional. P.R.A.Y. has a list of religious emblems approved for Camp Fire members, but it is not considered exhaustive.
American Heritage Girls
As a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
organization, the
American Heritage Girls
The American Heritage Girls (AHG) is a Christian-based Scouting-like organization for Americans. The organization has more than 52,000 members (2020) with troops or individuals ("trailblazers") in all 50 states of the United States and for Amer ...
(AHG) approves of the Protestant God and Country program from P.R.A.Y.
Members of Churches of Christ for Scouting(MCCS), as well as the Catholic programs available from th
(N.F.C.Y.M.) and the Eastern Orthodox Program from P.R.A.Y approved by th
Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting Recognitions from other organizations, denominations, or religions are not approved for use with the organization.
To promote religious awards within AHG, P.R.A.Y. offers a "Love God" rotational segment patch program for girl scouts and adults who memorize the
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
verses
Mark 12:29-31, attend or make a presentation about religious awards, then make a personal commitment to "love
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
". This program is similar to the "Duty to God" BSA and "To Serve God" GSUSA programs.
Canada
Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the Frenc ...
and
Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; french: Guides du Canada) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (W ...
offer the Religion in Life badge. Different faiths develop their own programs which are approved by Scouts Canada (which also administers the program for Girl Guides of Canada).
Each program has multiple age stages and a badge can be earned for each stage with the border color indicating the stage. The emblem on the badge indicates which faith.
* Stage 1 - Ages 7–9 - yellow border
* Stage 2 - Ages 10–12 - green border
* Stage 3 - Ages 13–15 - blue border
* Stage 4 - Ages 15 and up - red border
* Stage 5 - adult - purple border
Currently recognized programs are
* Anglican Church of Canada
* Apostolic Church of the Pentecost
* Canadian Baptist Ministries
* Canadian Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches
* Canadian Armed Forces (Protestant)
* Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
* Christian Science
* Church of the Nazarene
* Congregational Christian Church of Canada
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Evangelical Church of Canada
* Free Methodist Church of Canada
* Lutheran Churches of Canada
* Moravian Church of Canada
* Orthodox Church
* Pentecostal Assemblies
* Polish National Catholic Church of Canada
* Presbyterian Church in Canada
* Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
* Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
* Roman Catholic Church in Canada
* Salvation Army
* The Standard Church
* United Church of Canada
The above all have the same badge of a circle around a Greek
alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
and
omega
Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The wo ...
. The following all have different badges.
* Bahá’í Faith - nine pointed star
* Buddhist Faith - wheel of the law
* Canadian Unitarian Council -
flaming chalice
A flaming chalice is the most widely used symbol of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism (UUism) and the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies.
Origins
The symbol had it ...
* Hindu -
om
* Islam in Canada -
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
in Arabic above a crescent moon and star above Allah in English
* Jewish Religion -
Menorah
* Sikh -
Khanda
Khanda may refer to:
Places
* Khanda, Sonipat, a very big and historical village in Sonipat district of Haryana, India
* Khanda, Jind, a village in Jind district of Haryana, India
* Khanda Kheri, a village in Hansi Tehsil of Hisar district of Ha ...
* Zoroastrianism -
Fravashi
Fravashi ( ae, 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌, translit=fravaṣ̌i, ) is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian concept of a personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, or yet-unborn. The ''fravashi'' of an individual sends o ...
See also
*
Religion in Scouting
Religion in Scouting and Guiding is an aspect of the Scout method that has been practiced differently and given different interpretations in different parts of the world over the years.
In contrast to the Christian-only Boys' Brigade, which sta ...
Footnotes
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
Further Information
Programs of Religious Activities with Youth Also known as P.R.A.Y.. The administrator of a set of Protestant religious programs but their business office is also a clearing house on info about the Religious Emblems Programs in the United States in general.
Boy Scouts of America info on the Religious Emblems Programs*
ttp://scouting.quaker.org/ Friends Committee on Scouting*
ttp://nfcym.org/gscf/ National Catholic Committee for Girl Scouts and Camp Fire an
National Catholic Committee on Scouting(Boy Scouts)
National Lutheran Association on ScoutingEastern Orthodox Committee on ScoutingNational Jewish Committee on Scouting(Boy Scouts
National Jewish Girl Scout CommitteeNational Buddhist Committee on ScoutingNorth American Hindu AssociationNational Islamic Committee on Girl Scouting
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Religious Emblems Programs
Scout and Guide awards
Religion and children
Religion-related awards