Churches Cut Scout Ties: Southern Baptists ‘Deeply Disappointed’ With Boy Scouts’ Inclusion of Gays But Say ‘We Don’t Hate Anybody’ [VIDEO]

Churches cut ties with Boy Scouts after the organization decided to lift its ban on admitting Boy Scouts members who are openly gay. The Southern Baptists say that they are "deeply disappointed" with the organization's recent change in policy but claim that they have no animosity towards anyone.

Last Thursday, the Boy Scouts of America ended the national ban on admitting gay Scouts after taking a vote. The changes in policy will begin taking place on the first day of next year, though openly gay adults are still excluded from Boy Scouts leadership roles.

The Southern Baptist Convention, which is the biggest of all Protestant denominations in the nation, plans to hold a national conference next month to discuss a response to the Boy Scouts' decision.

Frank Page, who is the president of the Baptist convention's executive committee, said, "I think I can say with pretty strong accuracy that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are very disappointed in the latest change in policy...deeply disappointed."

It is highly likely that after the national meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, nearly 50,000 Baptist churches in America would be advised to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America.

However, Frank Page said that the decision of whether or not to withdraw connections with the Boy Scouts will ultimately fall on each individual church to decide on its own.

Pastor Greg Walker, who leads First Baptist church of Helena, has recently declared that he will not be allowing Boy Scouts to gather at his church anymore.

However, Walker says the decision to turn down the Scouts was difficult, as he shared, "It's hard on a personal level to say to a troop of young boys who have done nothing wrong and to the leaders, 'You're not welcome here.'"

As over 70 percent of Boy Scouts are sponsored by religious groups, especially the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptists' decision to cut ties may be critical to the organization.

Although Southern Baptists have plans to pull away from the organization, Page says that the church is still very loving. According to Page, "We don't hate people. We don't hate anybody, but we just felt like there's got to be some objective standard, and we felt they were maintaining that until recently."