The New York Times examines issues underlying the Boy Scouts of America’s potential abandonment of its longstanding ban on homosexual scouts and troop leaders.

A proposal to drop the national youth group’s prohibition on gays tops the agenda at a three-day meeting of its executive board that began Monday in Irving, Texas. Scouts volunteers involved in the debate described the decision as a proxy vote on how the organization can stay relevant in a changing social climate.

Participation in the Boy Scouts declined by 19 percent from 2000 to 2011, and the organization now has a largely religious cast, with more than 69 percent of troops affiliated with faith-based groups primarily from the Mormon, United Methodist, and Roman Catholic churches.