Holy religious wars! Mormon parents have been banned as Cub Scout leaders in a North Carolina troop after they were told their views are "not consistent with Christianity." Jeremy and Jodi Stokes enrolled their two young sons in a pack operating out of an evangelical Presbyterian church near Charlotte. Their offer to volunteer as leaders was met with enthusiasm—until they identified themselves as Mormons on an application. They were told their sons could remain as Cub Scouts. "I can't believe they had the audacity to say, 'You can't be leaders but we want your boys,'" said Jodi Stokes, who has a picture of Jesus in her living room. "Do they really think I'd let my boys go there now?"
Officials of the Christ Covenant Church defend their decision and vowed to communicate their leadership requirements more clearly in the future, reports the Charlotte Observer. Mormons believe in the death and resurrection of Christ, but have significant theology differences from Catholic and Protestant beliefs. A spokesman for the Boy Scouts of American said the church is within its rights to ban Mormons from leadership positions. The BSA requires members to swear an oath to God, though not necessarily a Christian God. But local groups are free to set their own policies beyond that, said the spokesman. The organization has been hit with several discrimination lawsuits. The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 ruled that the BSA has a constitutional right to ban gays from serving as troop leaders.
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