Awards Counselor Orientation

About the Program

This distance training program is designed for those who wish to serve as a counselor or facilitator for a Boy Scout religious emblem, and is made possible thanks to the generosity of The Transatlantic Catholic Committee on Scouting (TACCS), and Fr Ray Ball of the Diocese of Manchester.

The Religious Emblem Programs in Scouting can have a significant influence in developing spirituality, citizenship, and character. The most important ingredient in Catholic Scouting is the interaction that youth have with their adult leaders and with priests, deacons, and religious emblems counselors. Volunteers in Scouting are role models and mentors and have a lasting impact on the lives of the youth they serve. It is estimated that a typical Catholic Boy Scout his adult leader an average of 550 hours in a year at weekly meetings, weekend and camping activities, and other events. With this interaction, the leaders and religious emblems counselors have a unique opportunity to help young people understand their faith and live it more effectively.

Please view the two “The Value of Religious Emblem Programs” videos below

The Sacramento Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting is made up of volunteers whose mission is to assist the Boy Scouts to grow and develop in keeping with the spirit and teachings of Jesus and the highest ideals of His Church. We also assist their leaders in the task of helping to develop the spiritual life of the Scouts. We thank you for your ministry to the youth in Scouting and especially for taking the time to complete this training.

The training consists of six (6) modules:

  1. Scouting as Youth Ministry
  2. Adolescence and Faith: A Developmental Perspective
  3. Boy Scout Religious Emblems
  4. Youth Protection
  5. Policy on Religious Awards and Counselors
  6. Religious Emblems and Award Steps

The goal of this training is to give you the information you need to serve as a religious emblems counselor or facilitator. At the end of this training, you should:

  • Understand how Catholic Scouting and the religious emblems can help a young person grow in faith, and Scouting as a youth ministry
  • Know what religious emblems are available to Scouts
  • Have a basic idea of the goals and content of the emblem requirements
  • Gain a basic understanding of the stages of youth spiritual development
  • Understand the differing roles of counselor and facilitator in relation to specific emblems, and the requirements for serving in those roles
  • Understand some important points from the Boy Scout requirements for child safety
  • Understand the requirements for earning a religious emblem

After careful study of this material, you are asked to take a short quiz. You will then be directed to a ‘Counselor Certification Form’ with three parts:

  1. Counselor Application
  2. Counselor Certification Quiz
  3. Training Evaluation

When finished, please review the form for accuracy and completion; you should then click the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the form to be considered for certification as a religious emblems counselor or facilitator.

We urge you to begin the training course, following it through. You will start with some background information about Scouting and Youth Ministry in the Catholic Church.

To begin the distance training program, please click NEXT to continue...

NEXT - Module 1 Scouting as Youth Ministry