Boy Scouting Youth Religious Emblems

Boy Scouting Youth Religious Emblems

For Catholic Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers

Introduction

"Duty to God" (in Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing Oaths) and "a Scout is reverent" (in the Scout Law) are more than just words - they are the heart of Scouting for Catholic Scouts and Venturers.

Religious emblems reinforce the spiritual dimension of Boy Scouting, and Catholic religious emblems reinforce in Catholic Scouts and Venturers the values that the Catholic Church and Boy Scouting have in common.

This page includes information concerning:

Religious emblems for Catholic Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers
Getting started on religious emblems
Religious emblem boards of review
Pillars of Faith - Duty to God Award
Obtaining the emblem after completing the emblem requirements
Presenting and publicizing emblems earned
BSA youth religious emblem knot and devices
Wearing religious emblems, knots, and devices
Replacing lost or damaged emblems and related items
Religious Emblem Coordinators, Counselors, and Facilitators
Promoting religious emblems
Other religious awards for Scouts & Venturers
For more information

Religious Emblems

The following religious emblems can be earned by Catholic youth in Boy Scouting:

Light of Christ - for Catholic Tiger Cubs and Wolf Scouts
Parvuli Dei ("little children of God") - for Catholic Bear and Webelos Scouts
Ad Altare Dei ("to the Altar of God") - for Roman Catholic Boy Scouts
Light is Life - for Eastern Rite Catholic Boy Scouts
Pope Pius XII - for Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturers in high school or older

IMPORTANT NOTE: These religious emblem programs are NOT designed as substitutes for formal religious education programs or sacramental preparation programs, and are NEVER to be used as such. They are meant to supplement the formal religious education programs and sacramental preparation programs.

Religious Emblems for Catholic Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturers is a tri-fold, double sided brochure with information concerning these religious emblems

The following are brief summaries concerning each of these emblems.

Light of Christ & Parvuli Dei Emblems

The purpose of the Light of Christ emblem program is to help the Cub Scout develop a personal relationship with Jesus. With the active assistance and participation of the Scout's parents, it is hoped that the Scout will come to see Jesus as a real person and a friend.

The purpose of the Parvuli Dei emblem program is to help young boys explore a wide range of activities in order to discover the presence of God in their daily lives as member of their families and parishes and to develop a positive self-image through the contributions they make to the group or community.

(NOTE: both emblems are to be completed with a parent in a family setting. They are NOT to be worked on at Den meetings or other group settings.)

Religious Emblems Coordinators certified by the DMCCS are available to:

assist parents in getting started
answer questions a parent may have while the Cub Scout is working on the emblem requirements
assist in submitting the application for the emblem and ordering the emblem
presenting the emblem

While the assistance of a Religious Emblem Coordinator is not required for earning either of these two emblems, parents are encouraged to take advantage of the assistance that a Religious Emblem Coordinator can provide. Contact the Chair of the Religious Emblems and Recognitions Committee for a list of certified Religious Emblem Coordinators in the Diocese of Madison.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Anyone acting as a Relgious Emblem Coordinator in the Diocese of Madison MUST be certified by DMCCS. See RELGIOUS EMBLEM COORDINATORS,COUNSELORS, AND FACILITATORS below for information concerning how to become certified.

Ad Altare Dei Emblem

The purpose of this emblem program is to help Catholic Boy Scouts of the Roman Rite develop a fully Christian way of life in a faith community. The program is organized in chapters base on the seven sacraments. The seven Sacraments are a primary means of spiritual growth.

The emblem requirements are completed during scheduled meetings and activities led by a certified Religious Emblem Counselor. Contact the Chair of the Religious emblems and Recognitions Committee for a list of certified Religious Emblem Counselors in the Diocese.

The final requirement is to complete an Ad Altare Dei Emblem Board of Review.

Light is Life Emblem

This emblem program is for Catholic Boy Scouts of Eastern Rite churches - they earn this emblem rather than the Ad Altare Dei emblem. It is NOT appropriate to work on both programs.

The purpose of this program is to bring about in the Boy Scout, through his Eastern Catholic Scouting experience, a deeper awareness of his share in faith-life. Then going forth, he will witness this life through maturity in communal worship and in Christian formation of his world.

The Light of Life emblem program is NOT administered by the DMCCS. Catholic Boy Scouts of Eastern Rite churches should contact their Catholic Eastern Rite eparchy/archeparchy for informatin concerning how to earn this emblem.

Pope Pius XII Emblem

The purpose of this emblem program is to help Catholic Scouts and Venturers and more fully develop a Christian way of life within a faith community. Participants explore their baptismal call to bring about an awareness of their future calls from God. God's calls are in three distinct areas, i.e., inner self, secular community, and church community. These are all intertwined and impact one's daily life. They will explore this intertwining to fully understand their primary vocation of giving witness to the Gospel of Christ. The program is organized in chapter based on these calls and their membership.

The emblem requirements are completed at scheduled meetings and activities led by the participants, and facilitated by a certified Religious Emblem Facilitator. Contact the Chair of the Religious Emblems and Recognitions Committee for a list of certified Religious Emblem Facilitators in the Diocese.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Anyone acting as a Religious Emblem Facilitator in the Diocese of Madison MUST be certified by the DMCCS. See RELIGIOUS EMBLEM COORDINATORS, COUNSELORS, AND FACILITATORS below for information concerning how to become certified.

The final requirement is to complete a Pope Pius XII Emblem Board of Review.

Getting Started on Religious Emblems

1. Purchase the booklet for the religious emblem the Scout/Venturer is eligible to earn:

Light of Christ Activity Book - written in both English & Spanish, it includes a guide for parents [BSA Catalog No. 33074]
Parvuli Dei Activity Book - written in both English & Spanish, it includes a guide for parents [BSA Catalog No. 33085]
Ad Altare Dei Scout Manuel [BSA Catalog No. 33094]

(NOTE: the Ad Altare Dei Counselor's and Review Board Guide [BSA Catalog No. 33073 - not shown] is for Religious Emblem Counselors only)

Pope Pius XII Religious Emblem Participant Manual [BSA Catalog No. 33076]

(NOTE: the Pope Pius XII Religious Emblem Facilitator Manual [BSA Catalog No. 34733 - not shown] is for Religious Emblem Facilitators only)

***The DMCCS does not normally sell these booklets except at some special DMCCS events and activities. However you can purchase these booklets at most BAS council and national Scout Shops and from the BSA National Retail Store.***

2. Review the eligibility requirements in the booklet (including requirements for starting the program and when all the requirements must be completed) to ensure that the Scout/Venturer is eligible to earn that emblem.

3. For the Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII emblems only, do the following:

For the Ad Altare Dei emblem, complete the "Application to Begin Working on Ad Altare Dei Emblem" form located inside the Ad Altare Dei Scout Manual - see Instructions for Completing the "Application to Begin Working on Ad Altare Dei Emblem" form concerning completing this application.

For the Pope Pius XII emblem, complete the "Application to Begin Working on Ad Pope Pius XII Dei Emblem" form located iinside the Pope Pius XII Religious Emblem Participant Manual - see Instructions for Completing the "Application to Begin Working on Pope Pius XII Emblem" form concerning completing this application.

After these steps have been completed, the Scout/Venturer can begin working on the requirements for the emblem.

Religious Emblem Boards of Review

(For the Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII Emblems only)

For those two emblems, the final requirement to earn the emblem is that the Scout/ Venturer complete a Religious Emblem Board of Review for that emblem. When a Scout/Venturer Scout is ready for the Religious Emblem Board of Review, the Religious Emblem Counselor (for the Ad Altare Dei emblem) or Religious Emblem Facilitator (for the Pope Pius XII emblem) contacts the Chair of the Religious Emblems and Recognitions Committee, who selects a Catholic adult to chair the Board of Review. The Chair of the Board of Review then selects the other members of the Board of Review, with the approval of the Chair of the Religious Emblems and Recognitions Committee.

The members of the Religious Emblem Board of Review normally consist of a priest, a lay Catholic adult, and two youth who have previously earned that emblem.

Pillars of Faith - Duty to God Award

Although Catholic youth in Boy Scouting can earn 4 different religious emblems, only a small percentage actually earn all 4 emblems. Therefore, the DMCCS adopted the Pillars of Faith - Duty to God Award to:

Recognize Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers who have earned all 4 of the Roman Catholic religious emblems for their achievement.
Encourage more Scouts and Venturers to earn all 4 Roman Catholic religious emblems.

See the Pillars of Faith - Duty to God Brochure and Application (a tri-fold, double sided brochure) for additional information concerning the award (including eligibility requirements and how to apply for the award) and an application form for the award.

Obtaining the Emblem After Completing the Emblem Requirements

Scouts and Venturers who earn a religious emblem are eligible to purchase that emblem and a certificate card. Optional miniature emblem-parent's pins (miniature versions of each emblem) are also available for purchase. See Miniature emblem - parents pins for information concerning these pins.

See Price List and Ordering Information for Religious Emblems and Religious Recognitions for information concerning prices of religious emblems and minature emblem - parent's pins and how to order them.

Presenting & Publicizing Emblems Earned

Religious emblems are awards of the Catholic Church and not of the BSA. Therefore, religious emblems are presented by the Catholic Church, and not the BSA. It is the custom of the Diocese that religious emblems earned by Scouts/Venturers be presented at a Eucharistic litugry in the Scout's / Venturer's home parish.

Presenting and Publicizing Emblems by the Parish

Parishes are encourage to use the following recommended religious emblem presentation ceremony scripts and suggested parish bulletin announcements for use in presenting religious emblems to Scouts/Venturers in their parishes and for publicizing their achievements of earning religious emblems.

Light of Christ emblem:
- Presentation ceremony script
- Parish bulletin announcement
Parvuli Dei emblem:
- Presentation ceremony script
- Parish bulletin announcement
Ad Altare Dei emblem:
- Presentation ceremony script
- Parish bulletin announcement
Pope Pius XII emblem:
- Presentation ceremony script
- Parish bulletin announcement
Pillars of Faith - Duty of God award:
- Presentation ceremony script
- Parish bulletin announcement

Publicizing by the Diocese

Each year the DMCCS holds a Catholic Girl Scout and Boy Scout Celebration for all Catholic Scouts, Catholic adult leaders, and their families. All Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturers who earned a religious emblem during the previous year are recognized for their achievement in the program booklet of the Mass held during the Celebration. They are encourage to attend the Celebration and have their emblems blessed at this Mass.

BSA Youth Religious Emblem Knot and Devices

Although religious emblems are not awards of the BSA, the BSA awards the BSA "universal youth religious emblem knot" and BSA "devices" to Scouts and Venturers who earn one or more religious emblems of their faith. For Catholic Scouts and Venturers, this knot and the devices are awarded for earning the Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, Ad Altare Dei, Light is Life, and Pope Pius XII religious emblems.

See BSA Universal Youth Religious Emblem Knot and Devices for more information concerning the knot and devices, including where to purchase them, when, where, and how they are to be presented.

See the following for suggested non-denominational scripts for presentation of the BSA universal youth religious emblem knot and devices:

Pack presentation ceremony script
Troop presentation ceremony script
Team/Crew presentation ceremony script

Wearing Religious Emblems, Knots, and Devices

See Wearing Religious Emblems, Knots and Devices for information concerning when and where religious emblems, knots and devices are worn on official BSA uniforms.

Replacing Lost or Damaged Emblems and Related Items

See Price List and Ordering Information for Replacement Religious Awards concerning:

DMCCS policies and procedures concerning replacement of lost or damaged religious emblems and related items
Price list for replacement emblems and related items

Religious Emblem Coordinators, Counselors, and Facilitators

Religious Emblem Coordinators, Counselors, and Facilitators are youth ministers of the Catholic Church. the quality of the religious emblem program in the Diocese of Madison is directly related to the quality of the work performed by the Religious Emblem Coordinators, Counselors, and Facilitators in the Diocese.

The DMCCS has a program for training and certification of Religious Emblem Coordinators, Counselors, and Facilitators in the Diocese of Madison.

Catholic adults who are interested in ministering to Catholic youths in Boy Scounting are encouraged to become certified as a Religious Emblem Coordinator, Counselor, and/or Facilitator in the Diocese.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only adults who are certified by the DMCCS may act in the Diocese of Madison as a:

Religious Emblem Coordinator (for the Light of Christ & Parvuli Dei emblems);
Religious Emblem Counselor (for the Ad Altare Dei emblem); or
Religious Emblem Facilitator (for the Pope Pius XII emblem)

Religious Emblem Coordinators

Coordinators assist parents of Cub Scouts (including Tiger Cub, Wolves, Bears, and Webelos) as the parents work with their sons to earn the Light of Christ and Parvuli Dei religious emblems.

Coordinators also:

Assist the Scout's parents in submitting the emblem application and obtaining the emblem after all emblem requirements have been completed.
Work with the Scout's parents and parish to arrange for presenting the emblem at a parish Eucharistic liturgy
Assist the Pack in obtaining and presenting the BSA universal youth religious emblem knot and devices to Cub Scouts who have earned religious emblems
Work with Pack Scouters to promote the BSA-recognized religious emblem programs to the Pack

NOTE: Coordinators do NOT work directly with the Cub Scouts who are working on religious emblems.

Religious Emblem Counselors and Facilitators

Counselors work directly with Boy Scouts who have completed sixth grade to help them earn the Ad Altare Dei religious emblem.

Facilitators work directly with Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers in ninth grade or above to help them earn the Pope Pius XII religious emblem.

Counselors and Facilitators also:

Work with Scout's / Venturer's parents and parish to arrange for presenting the emblem at a parish Eucharistic liturgy
Assist Troops / Teams / Crews in obtaining and presenting the BSA universal youth religious emblem knot and devices to Scouts/Venturers who have earned religious emblems.
Work with Troops / Teams / Crews to promote the BSA religious emblem program

How to Become Certified

See How to Become a Religious Emblem Coordinator, Counselor, or Facilitator for information about the certification process.

Complete the Application for Certification as a Religious Emblem Coordinator, Counselor, and/or Facilitator to being the certification process.

After you have met all the requirements and your application has been approved, the Chair of the Religious Emblems and Recognitions Committee will send you a Religious Emblem Coordinator, Counselor, or Facilitator Certificate Card documenting your certification.

Renewing Certifications

In most cases, certification as a Religious Emblem Coordinator, Counselor, or Facilitator in the Diocese of Madison will be for a fixed term of up to 3 years. To remain certified after that term, the peron holding the certification must be recertified. The Application for Recertification as a Religious Emblem Coordinator, Counselor, Facilitator provides information concerning requirements for recertification and an application form for recertification.

Promoting Religious Emblems

"Duty to God" is at the heart of the Boy Scouting. Religious emblems reinforce the spiritual component of Boy Scouting. Catholic religious emblems remind Catholic Scouts and Venturers of the values that the Catholic Church and Boy Scouting have in common. Scouts, Venturers, Scouters and others are encouraged to promote religious emblems, especially to Catholic scouts and Venturers.

P.R.A.Y. Duty to God Promotion Patch Program

One way to promote religious emblems in a non-denominational manner to all Scouts, Venturers, and Scouters is throught P.R.A.Y. (Programs for Religious Activites with Youth) Duty to God Promotion Patch program.

The purpose of this program is to encourage youth and adults to learn about the religious emblems programs to all youths in Boy Scouting, regardless of their faith.

The Duty to God Promotion Patch is a four-segment puzzle patch which can be earned over four years - one segment can be earned each year. The anchor patch segment (the segment showid the "kneeling Scout") is the first segment earned and then one fo the other three segments can be earned each year on a rotation basis.

The anchor patch will be available every year, and one of the other segments will be available each year. Visit the P.R.A.Y. web site to find out which of the other segments is currently available and to order the patch segments.

Youth and adults of all faiths are eligible to earn this patch. There are two requirements for earning a patch segment:

Attend or coordinate a presentation or informatin seminar on religious emblems. (See Resources for Promoting Religious Emblems below for resources for making a presentation or conducting an information seminar.)
Make a commitment to fulfill their "Duty to God". For example:
- Youth could:
  - commit to earning the religious emblem of their faith at an appropriate time
  - help make a presentation on religious emblems to their Boy Scouting unit or another unit
  - help other Scouts earn their religious emblem
- Adults could:
  - commit to 25% of Scouts/Venturers in their Boy Scouting unit having earned or be actively working on the religious emblem appropriate to their levels or ages
  - commit to nominating a worhty adult for an adult religious emblem
  - commit to becoming a "counselor" (or whatever term the faith uses for an adult who works with youth to earn a religious emblem) for a religious emblem of the adult's faith

NOTE: To earn the segment for the second and succeeding years, the about requirements must be completed each year.

Resources for Promoting Religious Emblems

The following resources are available for making non-denominational presentations concerning religious emblems:

Scripts for making non-denominational presentations:
- Pack presentation script
- Troop presentation script
- Team/Crew presentation script
- Scouter 50 minute presentation script - for use at District roundtables, Council Pow-Wows, and University of Scouting meetings
- Scouter 10 minute presentation script - for use at Boy Scouting unit committee meetings and other Scouter meetings
"Dear parent" handout (to be used with the non-denominational presentation scripts):
- Pack parent handout
- Troop parent handout
- Team/Crew parent handout
Other resources used with the presentation scripts:
- BSA Duty to God video (7 1/2 minute running time)
- BSA Duty to God brochure (BSA Catalog No. 05-879), a listing all religious emblems with contact information for each faith having a religious emblem program

In addition to the above resources, the DMCCS has resources specific to promoting Catholic religious emblems, including:

Religious Emblems for Cathlic Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturers - a tri-fold, double-sided brochure with information concerning these religious emblems

If your Boy Scouting unit, district or council would like assistance in making a non-denominational presentation concerning religious emblems and/or a presentation specific to Catholic religious emblems, contact the Chair of the Religious emblems and Recognitions Committee.

Other Religious Awards

Scouts and Venturers who have earned the religious emblem for their particular age level in Boy Scouting are encouraged to earn additional religious awards, including:

Footsteps of American Saints activity patches
Rosary activity patches
International Catholic Awareness recognitions

Go to the Other Religious Awards page for additional information about these awards and how to earn them.

For More Information

Contact: Chair, Religious emblems and Recognitions Committee

Diocesan Chaplain

Diocese of Madison Catholic Committee on Scouting c/o Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center

Street Address: 702 S. High Point Rd     Madison, WI 53710

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 44983           Madison, WI 53744-4983

Phone: (608) 821-3173                           Fax: (608) 821-3139

www.madisondiocese.org/scouting