P.R.A.Y. and the "Religious Emblems" Program

Although often considered identical, there is a distinction to be made between the P.R.A.Y. program ("Promoting Religion Among Youth") and the "Religious Emblems" awards promoted by the Boy Scouts of America. To put it simply, P.R.A.Y. is a leading component of the broader Religious Emblems awards overseen by the BSA Religious Relationships Committee.

P.R.A.Y. itself is a specifically Protestant Christian organization that coordinates the "God and Country" awards specific to particular Protestant denominations and a more generic set of Protestant recognitions for Scouts in Protestant denominations that do not have awards tailored to their particular beliefs and church structures. Because it maintains full-time business offices to support its work and the distribution of materials and awards, there are other religious groups that have contracted with P.R.A.Y. to provide such logistical support for their awards and recognitions as well even though P.R.A.Y. is not involved in their program development efforts.

Information about which specific denominations are supported by P.R.A.Y. can be found by visiting the following website: www.praypub.org

There are many other religious communities with no connection at all to the P.R.A.Y. program that also coordinate programs of Religious Emblems awards with the BSA Religious Relationships Committee. Information about these programs and how to contact those who coordinate them may be found in the The Boy Scout Handbook (pp. 413-416 of the 11th ed./5th printing) and by visiting the "Religious Emblems Programs" page on the National Council BSA website.

General Structure of the "Religious Emblems" Awards

In most (but not all) instances faith traditions that participate in the Religious Emblems program offer two or more awards tailored to young people of different ages. Generally these would divide along age-levels roughly corresponding to Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts; in some instances as many as four awards may be available matching the Cub Scout, Webelos, Boy Scout, and Venturer age groups. Those faith communities associated with the Protestant awards run by P.R.A.Y. may also award a separate "Four Star" recognition to youth who earn all four levels of the "God and Country" awards.

In addition to these youth awards, both P.R.A.Y. and some of the other Religious Emblems programs offer a second type of award to adults who have been active in promoting religion among youth. Generally these awards are granted on the basis of nominations rather than earned on the basis of fulfilling specific requirements.

For both youth and adult awards, there are usually medals that may be worn on the Scout uniform for formal occasions. There are also "square knots" that may be worn above the left uniform pocket: a silver knot on a purple field for awards earned as youth, and a purple knot on a silver field for awards presented for adult service. While Scouters may wear either or both "knots" on their uniforms, Scouts should wear the "knot" only if they have earned the award appropriate to their current level in Scouting, or if a pin is placed on the knot to show at which level(s) they earned the awards.

Scope and Structure of the "Religious Emblems" Program

At the current time, the BSA Religious Relationships Committee recognizes 35 different faith communities that offer Religious Emblems awards to Scouts. These include all four branches of Christianity discussed in the portion of the "Primers" section of this website, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism as well as several other religious traditions.

In most instances Scouts will work with an adult mentor or counselor from the home faith community (and in some cases with parents or other family members) as well as meeting with the leader of that faith community who will give the final authorization for awarding the emblem. Specific instructions in this regard will be provided by the religious agency that oversees the particular award.

Copyright © 2005 Scouting and Religious Diversity
Last modified: 10/10/05