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From what I've seen of scouting, it was a good organization that was ruined by cultural marxism.
From wikipedia:
>In September 1972 the Boy Scouts launched the Improved Scouting Program. They published a radically revised handbook which made learning outdoor skills optional for the three lower ranks, They eliminated outdoor merit badges, no longer considering them required; those removed included Camping, Cooking, Nature, Swimming, and Lifesaving. Under the new program, a Scout could reach First Class without hiking, camping or cooking over a fire. The Scoutcraft information and requirements were replaced by information on drug abuse, family finances, child care and community problems.
tl;dr the BSA committed sudoku in 1972 in an attempt to recruit more Urban Youth, and to pander to feminists
The Christian fundamentalist overtones probably came in at this point, since they were the only people interested in trying to salvage the shattered remains of an erstwhile mainstay of American boyhood.
If you come across a scout handbook from the 1950s or earlier, you might well find it useful. Don't bother with any from the 1970s or later; I don't know if the 1960s editions are any good or not.
I'm not really comfortable blaming the Mormons for Scouting's problems, although the Mormon troops I've seen have definitely been afflicted by them. I suspect the opposite happened, actually - all Mormon boys are in scouts, so all of today's Mormon scout leaders grew up in the sanitized and pussified Scouting of the late 20th century.
