Citizenship in Society Merit Badge Merit Badge Getting Started

Introduction & Overview

Being a good citizen is about more than following rules or paying taxes. It is about how you treat the people around you every single day — in your school hallways, on your sports teams, in your Scout troop, and in your community. The Citizenship in Society merit badge challenges you to look at the world through other people’s eyes and to become the kind of leader who makes everyone feel like they belong.

This is one of the Eagle-required merit badges, and there is a good reason for that. Scouting believes that true leadership means understanding and respecting the people you lead — all of them, including those whose backgrounds, experiences, and identities are different from your own.

Then and Now

Then — A Nation Still Learning

The United States was founded on the idea that “all men are created equal,” but for most of American history, that promise did not apply to everyone. Entire groups of people were denied the right to vote, attend the same schools, eat at the same restaurants, or even drink from the same water fountains. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s — led by people like Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and countless others — pushed the country to begin living up to its founding ideals.

Scouting itself has evolved. For decades, participation was limited in ways that excluded many young people. Over time, Scouting has worked to open its doors wider and welcome all youth who want to learn, grow, and serve.

Now — Beyond the Law, Into Daily Life

Today, laws guarantee equal rights, but citizenship in society goes further. It is about the choices you make every day: who you sit with at lunch, how you react when someone is left out, whether you speak up when you hear something hurtful. Modern citizenship means building a culture of belonging — not just tolerance, but genuine inclusion.

Get Ready! This badge will ask you to think deeply, listen carefully, and have honest conversations. That takes courage — and courage is something Scouts know a lot about.

A diverse group of Scouts sitting in a circle outdoors, having an engaged conversation

Ways You Practice Citizenship in Society

Citizenship in society is not a single skill you learn once. It is something you practice in every part of your life. Here are some of the places where it matters most.

In Your Family

Your family is often where you first learn about respect, fairness, and empathy. Every family is different — different traditions, different beliefs, different ways of showing love. Understanding and appreciating those differences within your own home is the starting point for understanding them in the wider world.

A family of different ages sharing a meal together around a table, engaged in conversation

At School

School is where you interact with people from many different backgrounds every day. It is where you learn to work with classmates who think differently, speak differently, or come from different places. How you treat others in the classroom, in the cafeteria, and on the playground shapes the kind of citizen you are becoming.

In Your Community

Your community includes your neighborhood, your town, your place of worship, and the organizations you belong to. Being a good citizen in your community means volunteering, showing up for your neighbors, and making sure that community events and spaces are welcoming to everyone — not just people who look or sound like you.

In Scouting

Scouting is built on a promise to help other people at all times. That means every Scout has a responsibility to make their troop, crew, or ship a place where all members feel safe, respected, and valued. When a new Scout joins your unit, how you welcome them says everything about the kind of leader you are.

Online and in Digital Spaces

The internet is a community too — and it is one where words can spread faster and hit harder than anywhere else. Cyberbullying, misinformation, and exclusion happen online every day. Being a good digital citizen means thinking before you post, standing up against online harassment, and remembering that there is a real person behind every screen name.

Scouts of diverse backgrounds working together on a community service project, painting a community mural

This merit badge is a journey of understanding — of yourself and of the people around you. It starts with learning some important terms and ends with a plan for how you will lead with inclusion in every part of your life. Let’s get started.