LONDON, ENGLAND, June 12, 2005: Scouts no longer have to swear their allegiance to God and the Queen in a move meant to embrace ethnic minorities and people of different faiths. For nearly 100 years, all Scouts have had to swear a pledge, invented by the movement’s 1907 founder Lord Baden-Powell, in which they promise “that I will do my best to do my duty to God and to the Queen.” Under the Scout Association’s new guidelines, however, the wording can be altered, enabling children from other faiths such as Islam or Hinduism to pledge loyalty to their own religious beliefs. (HPI adds: This article doesn’t explain why UK Hindus would have any problem with “duty to God and to the Queen,” or that Hindus have protested.)
Non-British Scouts can promise to do their duty to “the country in which I am now living” rather than the Queen (The USA and India–click here–versions both say “do my duty to God and my country”). The updated guidelines allow the word “God” to be replaced by “Allah,” “my Dharma” or others according to the individual Scout’s faith or religion. Only atheists are not allowed to join the movement.
A spokesman for the Scout Association said: “The Scout movement has never been a church-based organization exclusive to one faith. “The promise is flexible so that if, for instance, a Muslim person did not want to make his promise to the Queen because she is the head of the Church of England, then they can pledge allegiance to their God. “They don’t have to pledge to the Queen but they still have to pledge to uphold the laws of this country. “The Scout movement is a multi-faith organization. People of any belief can join as long as they have a belief.”
“The whole point is that young people understand and believe what they are saying and, so long as there is a strong element of morality and duty and they agree to live their life in a good, progressive way, then the wording is open to discussion.” Only one per cent of Britain’s 400,000 Scouts are Muslim but the association expects many of its new members to be non-Christian. Last year, 10 new troops were launched in areas with large Islamic populations.