That is lovely for your cousin. Truly, it lifted my heart.

Actually, I'm not saying that reporting on it is making it an issue. The "us vs them" comes from both sides, and both sides should be held responsible for how they respond to one another. I'm not mad that Christian (thanks for the quotation marks, by the way) parents want their kids to be a part of a religious…

I'm not saying everyone's worldview is right or good, but parents are allowed to choose how to raise their kids. What's important is what happens when those kids grow up and are able to think for themselves. And the tragedy comes when that isn't allowed to happen. It's not perfect, but it's what we have to work…

My little cousin joined the American Heritage Girls. She tried to join the Girl Scouts but she has prater willi syndrome. She's 9, she's a little behind developmentally and a little hard to understand but otherwise pretty much normal. They met with her and then told her mom that she "wasn't a good fit" and they…

The old "every religious person is a molester rapist" trope. That didn't take long.

I grew up in Christian Girl Scout alternatives, this is absolutely nothing new. I was a Pioneer Girl and later (after an out-of-state move) a GA (an abbreviation I can't remember the full meaning of). I realize there are many problematic things in evangelical Christianity today (seeing as how I am still involved in…

How is this new and why are you surprised by this? The Baptists have had Awanas since 1941. Assemblies of God started Missionettes in 1955 and Royal Rangers in 1962. Seventh-day Adventists have Pathfinders, founded in 1928. All of them have badges, sashes, guide books, rules, camps, and pledges. (all equally…