Okay, so here's an interesting story, about an atheist whose about to be kicked out of the Boy Scouts of America if he doesn't profess to believing in a supreme being within a week.

Lambert, who has been a Scout since he was 9, said he won't profess a belief he doesn't feel, saying it amounts to a lie. "I wouldn't be a good Scout then, would I?"

And I wonder...how long has he been an atheist?

Cause here's the Boy Scout Oath:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

There's the same problem I have with the Pledge of Allegiance as currently written. There's an implicit belief in god stated. So if Darrell Lambert has been an atheist for a while, he's basically been lying every time he's said this oath...which doesn't make him a very good scout.

And the Boy Scouts are a private organization. They have the right to exclude whoever they want. I think it's pretty shitty that they choose to exclude homosexuals and atheists, but it's their right. I think they have the right to boot this kid out if they want, in all their small-mindedness and intolerance.

Update: Here's a related story from ABC news about non-believers in America...though they don't mention agnostics at all.