Disappointment, anger, disgust.

Words like these are echoing throughout social media about a national icon: The Boy Scouts of America.

To put it mildly, Scouting is going through a rough patch.

In July, the BSA national headquarters clarified its ban on gays and lesbians -- leaving it in place and triggering a national movement by hundreds of former Eagle Scouts to renounce their rank and return their treasured medals.

And then this week, the so-called "perversion files" were publicly released, naming more than 1,000 suspected child sex abusers since the mid-1960s with links to Scouting.

All this has people asking questions: What's going on here? Is Scouting in trouble? Is it even relevant anymore?

Although membership has remained steady at 2.7 million youths, many parents are taking a hard look at the organization -- especially its ban on gays, lesbians, atheists and agnostics, says former Eagle Scout Burke Stansbury, an online activist.

"Some of the aspects of Scouting morality I find is sort of old school -- like they're stuck in the 1950s."

It's become more acceptable, he says, for people to be atheist and agnostic and still be considered moral in our society. Also, "attitudes around homosexuality have changed a lot in the last few decades, and the Boy Scouts' moral code hasn't kept up with those changes."

Here's how mainstream the idea of gay and lesbian Scouts has become: both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney support it. Obama, in fact, serves as honorary BSA president, a tradition held by every commander in chief since the group was founded.

Eventually, the Boy Scouts will have to change, Stansbury says, or else the organization will become socially irrelevant.

The group is standing at a key moment in its survival, says Stansbury. If it fails to "get with the modern times" within the next decade, "alternative youth organizations will appear that are more inclusive and based on equality."

The majority of Scouts agree with the policy, the BSA said in July. But "no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."

Scouting offers to teach members skills in "character building" and making good "moral choices," says BSA spokesman Deron Smith. But he also says it's important to separate "the discussion of larger societal issues" from the operation of Scouting. "The state of Scouting is very strong."

'Living your values'

The idea is sometimes referred to as "living your values" -- in other words, interacting only with organizations and businesses that match your morals and ethics.

"People with young kids are trying to live their lives more in accordance with their beliefs and their values," says Stansbury. It's hard, he says, to participate in something like the Boy Scouts and everyday question your own integrity.

In protest, Stansbury sent his Eagle medal back to Scout headquarters a few months ago, along with hundreds of other ex-Scouts. Boy Scout policies and procedures evolve over time, says Smith. For example, the child sex abuse concerns decades ago spurred the BSA to implement strict screening, education and prevention policies that continue today and represent a "gold standard" for protecting kids, Smith says.

Boy Scout Zach Plante of Menlo Park, California, doesn't like the ban on atheists or gays and lesbians. But he loves Scouting.

So the 16-year-old basically looks the other way, he says, along with the rest of Troop 222. "In my troop I don't know of any particular Scouts that are gay or atheist, but I know that our troop wouldn't necessarily kick a Scout out of the troop for being gay or atheist."