Rant alert - religion and scouts
The boy's teacher was handing out leaflets yesterday about the local Beaver (junior Scouts) group. While this isn't applicable for his class yet as the lowest age you can join is 6, he seemed excited by the idea so I thought I'd check if things had moved on since I was a young Brownie.
Below are two quotes from the official Scouts website, emphasis added by me.
"The Scout Association is a diverse organisation that welcomes Members from all backgrounds, as long as they are able to make their promise. Part of the promise 'To do my duty to God' requires that the person taking the promise believes in a higher being - this can be called 'God', 'Allah' or 'Dharma'."
And further down...
"Our policy states that to be a youth member of The Scout Association, a young person is required to make the promise."
(https://staging.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=25%2C285)
So, atheism or worship of any 'higher being' that isn't on their list means you can't become a Scout unless you learn the valuable life lesson of lying through your teeth on a weekly basis? I know that I just mouthed the words when I was young and assume most littluns would too without thinking of it, but looking back it really annoys me that I had no choice about that if I wanted to attend.
They are not 'marketed' or thought of generally as a religious organisation, but a poke through the site also mentions prayers and the like at meetings.
Elsewhere on the site it states something that contradicts this completely (again, emphasis mine).
"Scouting was established in 1907 as an open and inclusive organisation with the current Equal Opportunities Policy put in place in 1996. This policy supports the principle that no member should be discriminated against on the basis of their class, gender, ethnic background, nationality, sexuality, mental or physical ability and political or religious belief."
(https://staging.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=377)
Does not compute.
Am I over-reacting here? I'm currently alternating between anger and sadness.
(also posted on FB)
Below are two quotes from the official Scouts website, emphasis added by me.
"The Scout Association is a diverse organisation that welcomes Members from all backgrounds, as long as they are able to make their promise. Part of the promise 'To do my duty to God' requires that the person taking the promise believes in a higher being - this can be called 'God', 'Allah' or 'Dharma'."
And further down...
"Our policy states that to be a youth member of The Scout Association, a young person is required to make the promise."
(https://staging.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=25%2C285)
So, atheism or worship of any 'higher being' that isn't on their list means you can't become a Scout unless you learn the valuable life lesson of lying through your teeth on a weekly basis? I know that I just mouthed the words when I was young and assume most littluns would too without thinking of it, but looking back it really annoys me that I had no choice about that if I wanted to attend.
They are not 'marketed' or thought of generally as a religious organisation, but a poke through the site also mentions prayers and the like at meetings.
Elsewhere on the site it states something that contradicts this completely (again, emphasis mine).
"Scouting was established in 1907 as an open and inclusive organisation with the current Equal Opportunities Policy put in place in 1996. This policy supports the principle that no member should be discriminated against on the basis of their class, gender, ethnic background, nationality, sexuality, mental or physical ability and political or religious belief."
(https://staging.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=377)
Does not compute.
Am I over-reacting here? I'm currently alternating between anger and sadness.
(also posted on FB)