Scout Volunteers Wanted……
ByUnless of course you are a Humanist!
The Bracknell news recently reported a surge in young people wanting to join local Scout groups. According to the article the Scout leader Mr Prower, is quoted as saying:
We’re always looking for more people – if I had volunteers I could open another Beaver pack tomorrow.
Leaders get so much out of Scouting, being able to help these youngsters develop and seeing the look on their faces when they are enjoying themselves makes it all worthwhile.
However as members of our group and the BHA are aware the Scout Association in the UK does not accept volunteers who are Humanist. One of the pre-requisites is that all Scouts and Scout Leaders, must take the Scout promise which is:
On My Honour, I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to God and to the Queen,
To help other people
And to keep the Scout Law
Clearly the requirement to make a promise to God would be unacceptable to most Humanists although a good many would like to support the otherwise positive experience the Scouts offer. Remarkably it doesn’t need to be a specific God, any god will do. Pagans, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, or Hindu’s are all welcomed.
The BHA has long campaigned for Scouts to be a fully inclusive organisation and accept people of all faiths and none. A simple modification to the promise which holds meaning to those of no religion or faith would be a very simple and reasonable accommodation.
According to the BHA:
We have been informed by a member of the Scout Association that atheists are welcome as Associate Members – that is, they can volunteer to help without taking The Promise. However, people wanting to be a Scoutmaster or a Scout still have to promise to serve a god.
- BHA Web Site
We continue to call for the Scout Association to allow a change in their rules in order for Humanists to make a positive contribution to the community.
If you have been affected by the issues raised here we would like to hear from you, or you can post comments in response to this item.
My best friend at school was a boy scout, although I was not – I went for the army cadets.
I decided to tackle him on this subject, hoping for some rational discussion. I was completely taken aback by the strength of his feeling on this matter. He refused to see that we are not trying to alter the whole movement or any other aspect of its ethos apart from the God link. My argument was that it would simply enable several hundreds if not thousands of extra yougsters to benefit from the same pleasures and character building as he had. He would have it that we are trying to tell the scout movement what to do and this was terribly, terribly wrong.
He certainly would fail his tolerance badge – something that the Humanists would be best equipt to introduce.
In the end, in order to preserve our friendship, I left him with the remark …
“OK then, on the eigth day God created the scouts”